


Renegades

by FearlessinBlue



Category: Sing (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2018-12-01 00:15:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11474604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FearlessinBlue/pseuds/FearlessinBlue
Summary: Buster Moon has assembled his crack team of elite agents and Operation S.I.N.G. is under way. As they struggle to take down a criminal banking ring the team faces threats from the criminal underworld and within. In order to save the innocent people at risk they must bare their souls, share their secrets, find themselves and truly become a team.





	1. The Name's Moon...Buster Moon

He was late. Of course.

Buster Moon's rusty MoPed puttered pitifully as he pushed the ancient engine to its limit, speeding through the streets of the buzzing metropolis. The old machine was a faded red color and in some places the paint had chipped away completely to reveal patches of rust. It looked like Buster had pulled the poor thing out of its grave. Despite the condition of his ride, Buster weaved in and out of stopped cars like he was riding a Ducati. A chorus of honks and angry yells greeted his bold navigation as frustrated drivers expressed their displeasure. Buster ignored all of this as he left the downtown area of the city and headed into an older district filled with old buildings and crumbling testaments to the poverty of the area. He screeched to a stop in front of a condemned theatre and hopped off of his MoPed. Humming happily he hurried down an alley on one side of the building until he had reached the back of the building. He parked his bike in the dirt, careful to avoid the pieces of broken glass and trash that littered the area. Satisfied that his vehicle was relatively safe, he removed his old motorcycle goggles to reveal wide grey-blue eyes and ruffled gray locks that parted down the middle and fell in his face slightly. He brushed imaginary dust off of his favorite blue suit and straightened his red bow tie. Once he was satisfied that he looked impeccable he strolled over to the back door and reached for the grubby handle.

He groaned when the handle held fast, the lock preventing him from budging the huge metal door. He groaned in frustration and rested his forehead on the door as he counted to ten slowly. Once he was calm his lips pulled into a slightly forced grin and he knocked three times on the door. A familiar voice called out from the other side.

"What?! Who's there?!" Buster's grin strained slightly when he realized that his morning was starting to spiral just a little bit further. It was never a good thing for him to hear that squawking, raspy voice first thing in the morning. It always meant trouble.

"Miss Crawly? It's me let me in." He jiggled the door handle once more but it still refused to give.

There was a brief silence as the woman on the other side of the door tried to puzzle out who exactly was on the other side of the door, "What's the password?" She suddenly demanded and Buster had to physically stop himself from pulling out his hair. Instead he settled for clenching his teeth and trying to reason with the woman on the other side of the door.

"Miss Crawly. We don't have a password." There was another long silence and when the voice returned this time it was more confused than firm.

"Well that doesn't seem very safe... how I am supposed to know that you aren't an enemy?" Buster's fists clenched at his sides and he took ten more calming breaths before he replied.

"Please?" He tried but he was immediately interrupted by Miss Crawly's triumphant voice.

"Hah! Wrong!" She went silent and Buster paced over to his MoPed and then back to the door in an effort to work off even a smidge of the tension that was building in his shoulders. Miss Crawly would be the death of him, it was an absolute fact. But today was too important for him to fall prey to the heart attack that was his secretary. He gave it another minute and then knocked on the door once more, his false cheer in full force.

"Miss Crawly it's your boss, Buster Moon? Will you please let me in?" He waited with bated breath for some kind of response and almost immediately the door was wrenched open to reveal an old women who was even shorter than him. She was wearing a garish orange jumpsuit that unfortunately clung to her body's every curve. Once upon a time it may have been a sight to see, but at this point her body was hunched slightly and her skin was covered in wrinkles. Buster had grown used to her wardrobe of obnoxious jumpsuits in the years that she had worked for him so he didn't even spare her a second glance.

He bustled into the crumbling entrance, Miss Crawly hot on his heels. They picked their way through the debris until they arrived in an area that used to be back stage. Buster hopped down the short set of stairs that led to the orchestra pit underneath the stage. He felt around on the concrete wall until he found the pressure trigger that revealed a set of gleaming silver doors. They automatically opened when he stepped in front of them and the small space was bathed in light. Blinking frantically Buster stepped into the elevator and once Miss Crawly had wandered in he pressed the button for B3. The doors slid shut and Buster was prompted by a computer t verify his identity with a palm scan and a voice recognition.

Buster cleared his throat and placed his hand on the scan pad as he spoke his chosen phrase into the microphone, "Rock bottom."

They were bathed in green light as his identity was verified and the elevator smoothly sailed down into their hidden fortress. Buster whistled quietly in an effort to break the all-consuming silence that encompassed the elevator. Miss Crawly just adjusted her glass eye so that it was facing outward. Buster rolled his eyes and raised the volume of his whistling nervously.

Just when the ride was starting to seem unbearably long the elevator doors slid open to reveal a long hallway ending in one solid grey door. Buster briskly walked down the hall, the clacking of his dress shoes echoing loudly around them. He reached into his briefcase and pulled out four folders from the bottom of his briefcase. His fingers danced over a fifth one, thick with paper and information, but he shook his head and left it in his bag. He then handed the bag to Miss Crawly who cradled it in her arms as she hurried to keep up with his pace.

"Are they all here?" He asked absentmindedly as he double-checked the names on the folders.

"Oh! Uh yes sir." Miss Crawly said as she fumbled with his briefcase before gaining control once more.

"Good. Very good." He mumbled to himself and when they reached the door he grabbed the handle and stood there for a second. Miss Crawly watched as he rolled his shoulders and shook himself out so that his body wasn't tense.

"Show time." With that he wrenched the door open and strutted in, Miss Crawly stumbling behind him.

Upon their entrance the five people that had been milling about impatiently turned all attention to Buster. Buster was wearing a welcoming smile as he gestured for them to take their seats in the small metal chairs that were waiting for them in the center of the room. Once everyone had made their way over to the chairs Buster began his opening speech. He had been practicing this speech in the mirror for weeks like a true showman.

"I would like to welcome all of you to Operation S.I.N.G. You have been hand picked for this operation because you are the best in your field, and because you have potential." He paused for effect and then carefully began pacing in front of the chairs. He had memorized the layout of the room days ago and as a result his carefully planned choreography went off without a hitch. Their eyes followed his every movement until he stopped in front of his first agent.

He flipped open his file as he examined the sweet woman that sat daintily on the chair in front of him. She had short blonde hair that she kept nervously trying to tuck behind her ear. She was wearing a pink button up and a pair of mom jeans that hugged her curvy figure just enough to be appropriate. She was clutching a yellow handbag close to her chest and her cheeks colored when Buster looked up at her with his piercing grey-blue eyes.

"Rosita Tenny." She nodded needlessly as if confirming to everyone that that was indeed her, "Excellent engineer, accomplished mechanic, with a history of brawling in the garage." He raised an eyebrow questioningly and Rosita's pale, freckled skin turned cherry-red.

"I-it was a um...oh dear it was a little m-misunderstanding." She sputtered and Buster had to hide the small that desperately wanted to come out behind his mask of impassivity. He couldn't lose character so early in the game. He had to earn their respect first.

"It says here that you bludgeoned a man with a wrench for, and I quote, 'touching your fucking tools'." Rosita turned impossibly redder and gasped slightly when Buster let the curse word loose. She glanced over at the other agents who were looking at her in awe and shock. She wrung her hands and shifted in her seat before offering up a feeble explanation.

"They're very... sensitive?" It came out like a question and Buster stared up at her for a moment before closing her folder and turning towards his next victim. Behind him Rosita sighed in relief and relaxed her death grip on her bright yellow purse.

A pudgy blonde man decked out in a gold sequined sweat suit was eagerly bouncing in his chair, his smile so large that it made Buster's cheek twinge with sympathy. His long blonde hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and his aqua colored eyes practically glittered with excitement. Buster was put off for a second before he cleared his throat and opened the next folder.

"Gunter" Buster held the name, proud of himself for pronouncing it correctly after all of the practice he put in. "No last name?"

"Ya! I am like zee famous Cher!" Buster smirked and looked down at his notes.

"On loan from the German Intelligence Service... for an undetermined amount of time. Interesting."

"I am on unt vacation." Gunter proclaimed proudly and Buster just stared at the man in amusement.

"Ah...yes. Former race car driver, banned from every track in Europe and parts of Asia, and you have totaled 37 agency vehicles." Gunter just nodded proudly and gave his fellow agents an exuberant thumbs up.

"And.... I'm sorry what is dance-fu?" Buster had been puzzling over this concept for months but the Internet had nothing to offer and no one else in the agency was familiar with it.

"Oh! Da! Zat is ein deadly compinazion of martial arts und dance." He emphasized the word dance with a roll of his body and an impossibly larger grin that made Buster smile slightly. He shook his head and pointed his pen tip at the exuberant man.

“That’s… nice. Well, welcome to the team.” With that he moved on to the next chair where a girl was sitting slumped in the metal chair, her arms crossed over he chest and her eyes narrowed in boredom. Before Buster could say anything she blew a pink bubble with her gum and popped it loudly. Buster didn’t even flinch as he opened her file and scanned the information, making a show of reading it so that they didn’t know that he had actually memorized every word.

“Ashley Fitch.” He started with her name just like everyone else but the girl leaned forward, a dark look in her eyes, and interrupted him.

“Ash. My name is Ash.” She spat out and Buster raised an eyebrow questioningly before returning to her file.

“Ash Fitch.” The girl was the picture of rebellious teen in her twenties. She had a head full of dreadlocks that were bleached in places to give them a ringed look. She was wearing a black and white sweater covered in holes, a red plaid skirt, and dark grey leggings. Her eyes were rimmed with dark makeup making her tan skin paler than it actually was.

“Demolitions and weapons expert, top of your class at the academy, but a severe problem with authority.” Buster wasn’t fazed when she gave him a sneer and rolled her eyes as he read off her credentials, “In your time with the agency you have been transferred off of six different units and written up for insubordination 52 times.”

Buster whistled and then gave the gloomy girl a cheerful smile, “We’re going to get along famously.” He winked and Ash snarled in response. He ignored her response and moved on to the last chair.

It was occupied by a tall young man with deep tan skin. His unruly dark hair was spiked up on top of his head and stubble speckled his face. His handsome face was tight with nerves but his body was relaxed back against the chair, almost sprawled in it.

“Johnathan Bannerton.” Johnny nodded and fiddled with his leather jacket as Buster examined him for a long time, “Expert martial artist and top field agent in your sector. Son of Marcus ‘Big Daddy’ Bannerton, notorious mobster.” Johnny looked away in shame, his knee bouncing slightly as her nerves became more apparent. Johnny said nothing and Buster didn’t push as he closed the folder and walked back to the door, opening it and gesturing for all of them to follow.

The group got up out of their seats and hurried after him, whispering quietly behind his back as they walked. When they reached the elevator, Buster pressed the button to summon it. He turned around to look at the group, Ash spoke up , her hands shoved deep in her pockets.

“And who the hell are you?” She smirked and Buster cheered inwardly. He had been saving this line for a special occasion and now he would finally have a chance to use it.

“The name’s Buster…Buster Moon.” Right on time the elevator arrived and he dramatically stepped in. Ash shuffled in with everyone else but as the door closed she snorted out a laugh and whispered under her breath.

“Ya big dork.”


	2. My Way

The elevator descended a few floors until it hit B5 and the doors slid open to reveal a room completely different from the one before. The space was wide open, taking up space equivalent to an aircraft hangar. In the center there was a wide platform with steps leading up to it. Buster avoided stepping into it but gestured to it as the motley group walked past. It felt vaguely like they were tourists touring a museum.

 

Buster led them into one of the closed off areas and suddenly they were in an observation box, staring at a dark room. Buster snapped his fingers and the lights cam on to reveal that the room was littered with high tech laser beams that washed over the space.

 

"This is the Combat simulator where the computer generates holographic opponents for you to battle. There are ten levels of difficulty but until you're fully trained you will only have access to level 5 at the highest." He smiled plesantly and pressed a few buttons on a control panel, prompting the computer to form a holographic form that dashed around the compound, leaping and spinning off of walls and boxes of various sizes that rose up from the floor.

 

"The course is dynamic and the environment around you will change as you fight, much like in the real world. Isn't it fantastic?" He asked excitedly and turned around to take in their expressions. Rosita was looking at the machine in wonder and her fingers twitched slightly at her side as if they ached to take apart the technical marvel. Buster made a note to lock the main control room on their way out as a precaution. Gunter looked intrigued but not particularly impressed which put a dent in Buster's pride for a second. Until he saw the look on Johnny's face. The handsome young man had a huge grin on his face as his brown eyes followed every movement of the computer simulation as if trying to memorize is pattern. Buster smirked to himself, the young man wouldn't find one, there was no pattern. Finally, Ash was staring down at her nails, still chewing that infernal piece of gum, looking thoroughly bored. Just as Buster was about to look away he caught a glimpse of something in her eye, an unreadable emotion that set him slightly on edge. It would be a challenge to find out what was going on inside this girl's head.

 

Deciding that they had seen enough, Buster shut down the program and led them throughout the rest of the compound. He showed them the obstacle course, another unique marvel that he promised would change every day into a new challenge, and the exercise room which was equipped with weights and machines of every type. He was talking about the holographic satellite map that displayed their locations at any time during the mission and provided in depth access to the most advanced satellite imaging  in the world when Miss Crawly appeared out of nowhere at his elbow.

 

"We're ready for testing sir." She said, nearly scaring Buster straight out of his suit he was so startled. He spun around, placing a hand on his chest as if trying to stop his heart from leaping out of his chest.

 

"Miss Crawly! I told you not to scare me like that." He scolded her and the old woman had the decency to look sheepish even though her one good eye glinted with amusement.

 

"Ah. Yes. Sorry sir." She said and gently took the personnel folders from him, fumbling slightly before she regained her grip and held them to her chest.

 

"Um... I'm sorry what testing?" Rosita piped up nervously, her yellow handbag still clutched in a death grip at her side. Buster nodded to Miss Crawly who wandered off towards the command booth as Buster wordlessly led them to the exercise room.

 

"I know you've all been tested by he agency but I have my own program. We will be running diagnostics on your skills and physical forms in order to determine your level of readiness on my scale." His smirk widened and for the first time the friendliness that seemed to emanate from him seemed less than apparent.

 

"What are you talking about Moony?" Ash spat out the derisive nickname with a scowl. Her arms were firmly crossed over her chest once more and her scowl was dark with anger. Everyone else seemed just as confused and frustrated and Buster found himself on the other end of their questioning glares.

 

"I'm talking about tests Ash. Lots of tests. We'll be running them today. All day." With that he snapped his fingers once more and Miss Crawly appeared with tech pads assigned to each agent, "Let's begin shall we?"

 

They were all ushered to various areas of the compound and faceless techs walked them through various tests including running on a treadmill while vitals were monitored, strength diagnostics, psych evaluations, and various technical tasks common to their specialty. Ash was tasked with assembling a bomb out of random materials and then disarming a complicated explosive all withing fifteen minutes. Rosita was given a similar task down in the garage where she was tasked with assembling various gadgets and then finding and fixing a problem in one of the many vehicles at their disposal. Gunter was led to a large area off of the side of the garage where he was tasked with driving various vehicles through an obstacle course. Johnny was being given a combat exam where he was tested in his knowledge and application of various forms of martial arts. After all of their individual testing was complete Buster brought them to the firing range area of the practice gym and they were all tested in their ability to handle firearms.

 

Once they were completed Buster moved the exhausted agents to the center platform where they all but collapsed onto the mat. Buster grinned when he saw their state of exhaustion, satisfied that his tests had been sufficient in actually testing their skills both mentally and physically. He held out his hand and Miss Crawly handed him the first tech pad in her stack. He scrolled through the results and then looked up at Gunter who was panting and yet still smiling hugely. He seemed to be enjoying every test, even his own exhaustion

 

"Gunter. You excelled on the track with smaller vehicles but I want you to continue to practice with the larger vehicles. you need to be equally proficient with them. For your position on this team that will be essential." Gunter nodded happily and then laid back on the mat to relax. Next to him Rosita was shifting uncomfortably in the tight jumpsuit that everyone had been given for the tests, mumbling about the obscene amount of skin that was being shown. Buster chuckled and traded pads with Miss Crawly so that he was holding hers.

 

"Rosita. Your strength tests were... eye-opening to say the least. Your devices are unique, to say the least, but I want you to further familiarize yourself with the vehicles that we use. I doubt that will be a problem." He grinned at the blushing blonde who just nodded happily and did a little celebratory dance. Buster chuckled and moved on to Johnny who was sprawled on the mat, covered in sweat and panting.

 

"Johnny. May I call you Johnny?" He didn't wait for a reply before hurrying on with his comments, "Your strength and martial arts skills are stellar but I want to see more development with your spontaneity in combining these techniques. I don't want you to be too predictable. Miss Crawly will give you lessons until she is satisfied. I trust her judgement implicitly." He moved onto to Ash as Johnny stared at the fragile looking woman that had been assigned to teach him mixed martial arts. She just gave him a lopsided smile and handed Buster the final pad.

 

"Ash." He glared at her over the pad and she returned the look, waiting for the inevitable complaints that every other supervisor had spewed out after her testing, "Your demolition expertise and marksmanship are off the charts. I am impressed. However, your refusal to engage in the psychological testing does prove a problem." Suddenly his glare melted into the sunny grin that was starting to become familiar, "We'll get there eventually."

 

Ash just stared up at him in shock as the compliments hit her like a truck. She wasn't used to being complimented by her superiors, rather she had braced herself for a verbal dressing-down just like every other agent she had served under. The shock was quickly replaced by suspicion as she examined the happy little man. She didn't know what his game was yet, but she would be damned if she wasn't going to find out.

 

"Well everyone that was a very informative first day if I do say so myself." Buster bounced on his toes cheerily and patted the pads happily. "Your results are so encouraging that I have decided that tomorrow we will run our very first test mission. I expect you all to be here at 6 am sharp to prepare. Until them you're dismissed."

 

They all groaned as they rose from the mat and headed towards the elevator. Buster watched them until they had disappeared into the elevator. His smile faded and he hurried towards the command room where Miss Crawly was waiting, a worried look on her face.

 

"I have Judith from the Director's office on line one. She wants to speak with you about the mission and the team." She announced as soon as he bustled in through the doors. Buster shed his suit jacket and glared at the phone that sat innocently at his command station.

 

"Tell that woman I'll have to call her back. I don't have time to listen to her prattle on about our budget and our timeline. I know. I know we don't have much time. I know they're not ready. I know I know I know." He ranted as he slumped in his chair and glanced hopefully at his email inbox. It was devoid of any new messages and the little bit of hope that had held fast in his chest since he sent out the communicae died. She wasn't going to come in voluntarily. He should have known.

 

He glanced at the three techs that were desperately jumping in between computers in the tech room. They were capable and intelligent but they were disorganized and needed a leader, but his expert wasn't cooperating. Time to bring in the big guns.

 

He grabbed the phone on his desk and took a deep, bracing breath before dialing a number that he dreaded to call. Calling her only ever meant trouble. The phone rang twice before she picked up, her tone tense and stern.

 

"What?" She snapped and Buster winced when he heard the anger in her voice. This was not going to be an easy sell.

 

"Nana!" He said, his voice dripping with false cheer, "It's so good to hear your voice darling. How are you?"

 

"Moon. How many times have I told you not to call this number. Go through my secretary." She hissed out and Buster's smile became more strained as he attempted to keep his cool. The woman was impossible but she was essential to his mission and his personnel problem.

 

"I know Nana. I know. But this is important. I need a little help." He winced when her harsh laugh echoed over the line and sent chills down his spine.

 

"What on this planet would make you think that I would willingly help you with anything." She asked but Buster knew that it wasn't a question. He knew that this phone call was going downhill fast. If he didn't grab her attention he might lose her completely.

 

"It's about Agent Jones." He said plainly and the other end of the line went silent for a second before Nana spoke once more.

 

"We had better be talking about Agent Jones in Accounting." She hissed out and Buster's stomach dropped to his shoes.

 

"No ma'am. Agent Jones from project Kindergarten." There was a barely audible growl from the other end of the line and then the clacking of a few buttons. Buster waited patiently, his foot bouncing slightly.

 

"You idiot. You can't speak about that project on this line." She finally replied, her tone laced with venom but Buster could detect a hint of fear in her voice.

 

"I don't want to talk about the project Nana. Just the agent. I want her for Operation S.I.N.G. but she is... resistant." here was another long silence and for a minute Buster thought that she might have hung up on him.

 

"I'll put in a transfer, she'll be there in a day. But I better not hear another word about any of this. **Any** of this. Am I understood?" She finally spoke, her voice still strained but significantly less threatening. Buster nodded to himself but realized that she couldn't see his nod over the phone.

 

"Yes Ma'am." With that she hung up and Buster was left staring at the papers on his desk. They were in disarray, spread about in a manner that only he could decipher. He ran a tired hand through his gray hair and let out a long sigh. He heard Miss Crawly walk over and set a cup of coffee on his desk. To his surprise it was full and prepared just how he liked it.

 

"Sir...?" Se asked tentatively and Buster looked over his cup at her with a raised eyebrow, "Are you sure it's a good idea to bring Agent Jones into this?"

 

Buster sighed, took a sip of his coffee and let out what felt like his millionth sigh of the day, "I don't know Miss Crawly, but we're out of options."


	3. Back in the Saddle

Buster didn’t sleep a wink the night before a mission, whether he was on it or directing it from HQ he had always been this way. He had received a terse email at midnight detailing Agent Jones’s specifications for the tech in the mission room so he had spent his sleepless night rearranging, installing and preparing everything for Agent Jones. He hadn’t wanted to force the poor girl to join his operation but she was resistant and he needed her skills above anyone else’s. He just hoped that she forgave him for it in the end, it was not a good idea to be on her bad side. 

 

When the computer notified him that the other agents had arrived in the briefing room he was drinking what felt like his millionth cup of coffee. He gave the mission room a once over to make sure that everything was ready for the first operation before speed-walking through the winding hallways of the base to the briefing room.

 

All of the agents were there, barely concealed excitement on their faces as they discussed the prospect of their first mission. Even Ash, who was reclining in her chair, her combat boots resting boldly on the briefing table, had an excited glint in her eyes.

 

"Good morning everyone!" He greeted them cheerily, his smile masking the nerves that practically vibrated through his body. Their chatter died down immediately and their attention turned towards him and Miss Crawly moved around the room, passing out briefing packets and cups of coffee. Ash and Johnny snatched up their coffees like they were liquid gold while Rosita politely sipped hers. 

 

"I'm glad you all are here today. I'm afraid this briefing is going to be decidedly low tech until our tech expert arrives. Agent Jones is the best of the best." Ash scoffed and picked at her nails.

 

"Obviously she's not the best at punctuality." She snarled and Buster shot her a frustrated glare.

 

"I'm sure that you all know this, but it's dangerous to underestimate someone in this business. Especially Agent Jones." The room went silent as his serious warning fell over the table. Buster flipped open his packet and everyone else followed suit.

 

"This mission is primarily to test your abilities to perform as a team under pressure. I expect that it will go off without a hitch." He took a moment to give each of them a pointed look before returning to his debriefing.

 

"As I'm sure you've seen in the news, the Princess of Roarssia is getting married to the Duke of Catalunya. Yesterday a faction of terrorist threatened to sabotage the wedding. Despite our warnings the princess intends to go through with the marriage. Your mission is to infiltrate the ceremony and the reception. Ensure that the happy couple get to their honeymoon unscathed." He took a breath, examining their faces for any questions before continuing on.

 

"Johnny. I've gotten you onto the princess's protection detail since she is the most likely target. You will be armed but if you can avoid a firefight, do so. There are to many moving parts here to risk something like that." Johnny nodded and began reading through the dossier on who he would be protecting and the potential assailants.

 

"Ash. You are in charge of protecting the Duke. However I want you to do so from a sniper position. I've found the perfect places for you to choose from. Do not fire unless there is no other option or I say so. You will be armed additionally in the event of a firefight, weapons of your choice." Ash grinned and leaned back in her seat once more, ignoring her dossier.

 

"Gunther and Rosita. I want you positioned outside of each venue providing surveillance and transportation in the event that a quick getaway is needed. You should have a planned escape route but be ready for anything, we can't control every traffic change." Rosita nodded nervously and Gunther exuberantly high-fived her, his grin wide and innocent but his eyes glinting with mischief.

 

"Agent Jones and I will be communicating with you from the mission room using these." He gestured to Miss Crawly who slowly began handing out his tech ear pieces to each agent.

 

"They do not turn off so be advised that I can hear everything that you can. This is an evaluation." He scanned his notes to make sure that he wasn't missing anything before nodding to them.

 

"You are dismissed to gather your gear and prepare yourselves in any way that you need. The jet leaves in an hour." When he went silent they all rose and hurried off in separate directions, chatting excitedly amongst themselves.

 

Buster let out a shaken breath and braced himself against the desk. He closed his eyes and stayed in that position, wrapped in silence, until Miss Crawly broke it.

 

"Sir...?" She asked tentatively and Buster took a moment to get her himself once more before turning to regard Miss Crawly with raised eyebrows.

 

"Um.. Agent Jones has arrived sir." She nervously wrung her hands and Buster felt a pang of fear mixed with relief rush through him.

 

"Go ahead and show her in. We wouldn't want to keep her waiting." He said absently and Miss Crawly nervously glanced behind her.

 

"Um actually sir she's already in the mission room." Buster's eyebrows flew impossibly higher in suprise and he quickly hopped out of his seat.

 

"How upset is she?" He mumbled as he hurried through the halls, Miss Crawly doing her best to keep up with him.

 

"Yes well... She is taking apart one of the servers." Buster increased his pace, worry now visibly showing on his face.

 

"And she asked for some hot chocolate." Buster broke into a sprint.

 

When he burst into the mission room a young woman was bent over the guts of the main server, mumbling to herself as she rewired it meticulously.

 

"Agent Jones." Buster said in greeting and she whipped around to look at him. She had a curvy figure, skin the color of milk chocolate and long wavy locks that were pulled back into a loose ponytail. The brilliance of her blue eyes was muddled slightly by a pair of glasses that adorned her face. Buster winced barely when he saw the hard look in those eyes.

 

"Buster." She finally said in a voice that was deceptively sweet and quiet. Buster cautiously made his way towards her while Miss Crawly went to make some hot chocolate.

 

"Meena..." he sighed, trying to find the right words to appease her, "I didn't want to do this but you gave me no choice. You are the best and this operation is critical. I need you."

 

Meena paused, a flash of fear making her suddenly close in on herself, "I'm only doing tech right?" She asked uncertainly and Buster sighed in relief. Her anger would fade, he was sure of it.

 

"Absolutely. I doubt I'll ever need to send you out into the field. Never gonna happen. Not in a million years." He assured her and the frosty attitude that had surrounded her since she laid eyes on him began to fade. They stood in silence for a moment before she let out a sigh and gave Buster a tentative smile.

 

"I'll do it. But only as a tech expert." Buster nodded eagerly and began to back away from the mess of wires that covered her workstation.

 

"Thank you Meena. You won't regret this." He practically skipped to the doors, his bad mood banished in the event of her acceptance. He made it all the way to the doors before her soft voice stopped him in his tracks.

 

"Buster I need you to promise me something." Buster stopped and turned to look at Meena, a pit of dread once more taking up residence in his stomach. Her face was dead serious, and the cold edge had returned to her baby blues. They were like diamonds digging into his soul and anchoring him in the open doorway.

 

"I need you to promise that you won't activate me." She breathed out and for a second Buster considered feigning ignorance of her 'special' circumstances but reconsidered when he looked at her once more. Her look said that she was on the cusp of leaving if he didn't answer this right, and there was no way she would have said anything if she didn't know that he knew everything.

 

"I promise." He said quietly and he pulled himself from his temporary paralysis and strode down the hall towards where the jet and the others were undoubtedly waiting for him.

 

The whole way he couldn't shake the feel of her gaze on his back nor the feeling of disaster that refused to fade.

 


	4. White Wedding

_‘The boredom is killing me. Why are weddings so long?’_ Johnny’s earpiece crackled to life, stirring him from the daze that he had fallen into. He had been vigilant until about halfway through the ceremony when the words that the priest droned out meshed together and his eyelids grew heavy.

 

He chuckled quietly to himself from his position and glanced up towards the balcony where he knew Ash was expertly concealed. He pressed his finger to his earpiece, feigning an important conversation.

 

_‘Tell me abaht it. This is why I’ll nevah get married.’_ He whispered and Ash immediately fired back, obviously desperate for some conversation.

 

_‘Are you sure it’s not because you can’t find a willing girl?’_ She snarked but Johnny just snorted and smirked to himself.

 

_‘Are ya kiddin’ ? I’ve got plenty of choices.’_ He adjusted his tuxedo, knowing that Ash could see him even if he couldn’t find her.

 

_‘Believe me I know. Everyone knows about you Mr. Lady Killer. Too bad I’m immune to your charms.’_ They went silent for a second as Johnny scanned the pews, carefully examining each person for signs of an imminent attack. When he found none he returned to the conversation that was keeping him awake.

 

_‘And ‘ow exactly is tha’ possible.’_ He said quietly.

 

_‘Well most girls fall for the accent, the good looks, or the job title but me....well I was at the academy the same time you were. So I know you’re just a big dork.’_ Johnny could practically hear the smirk in her tone and he frowned, his pride slightly wounded that a girl as pretty as Ash wasn’t susceptible to his charms. Just as quickly, he decided that he would just have to make do with her friendship instead. His choice was proven correct when she made her next comment.

 

_‘But I’ve definitely got some tips for ya.’_ And with that the deal was sealed, they were friends, partners. It probably shouldn’t have been that easy but Johnny had a hard time finding anyone in the agency who wasn’t interested in getting him into bed or wasn’t jealous of his success. But Ash was neither attracted to him nor intimidated so it was easy for them to fall into a rapport as they weathered the longest wedding ceremony on Earth.

 

Finally the wedding reached its climax and the crowd perked up as the couple said their vows and leaned in for a chaste, political kiss. Johnny rolled his eyes at the way that the bride blushed and almost every woman in the chapel swooned. That is, every woman except for the Latina in his ear who was dramatically gagging. Johnny desperately held back his laughter, deciding that a smile was probably a better choice considering his position in front of the guests.

 

He almost jumped a foot when Buster’s voice interrupted Ash’s dramatics, _'Sorry to interrupt your.... conversation agents but Agent Jones is going to be taking over tactical from now on so I can observe your ability to follow her directions. Please try to remember that this is still an evaluation of your skills.’_

 

Johnny had the decency to remain in sheepish silence but Ash was not quite so tactful, _'What gives? You’re not evaluating the Almighty Agent Jones?’_ She grumbled and Johnny could practically hear the tense frustration coming from Buster’s side of the comm.

 

_'Agent Jones does not need to be evaluated because I have already observed her skills in the past.’_ Something about his tone shut Ash up before she could voice another protest and there was a slight beep as control was transferred from Buster to the mysterious Agent Jones.

 

From the way that Buster described their experience Johnny was expecting an old crone who spent her entire life behind computers, barking orders and generally being a pain in the ass of the younger agents so he was expecting the sweet, slightly tentative voice that replaced Buster.

 

_'Hello Agents. I’ve been monitoring the cameras in the chapel as well as the banquet hall where the reception will be held and I’ve determined that the best point for anyone to strike would be between the two locations.’_ She was all business but Johnny could feel his inner tomcat purring at the prospect of seducing whoever was on the other side of that honey-filled voice. 

 

_'Agent Fitch. I’ve been going over the building specs for the church and I’m sending you your new position now. From there you’ll be able to monitor the street and surrounding buildings for anything suspicious.’_ Ash grumbled a reluctant affirmative and the comm line was momentarily filled with the sounds of her scuffling as she moved positions.

 

_'Agent Bannerton. Stick with the bride and groom and evaluate the crowd from ground level. I’ll be on all traffic cams as back up but I need you to blend and give me a read.’_

Johnny felt his smile curling into the salacious smirk that usually made women weak in the knees.

 

_'Roger tha’ Angel.’_ He said snarkily and for a moment he was filled with satisfaction as the comm line was dominated by a startled sort of silence.

 

_'W-we’ll um... yes well. Where was I?’_ Agent Jones sputtered as she tried to regain control of her train of thought that he had successfully derailed.

 

_'Um... I think Gunter and I were next.’_ Rosita piped up helpfully and suddenly they were serious again.

 

_'Yes yes. Of course. Agent Tenny if you would please be my eyes on the street. And Agent...Gunter um I need you on standby for a quick getaway. If this goes south I need you to secure the assets and get them to the safe zone.’_

 

_'Da! Ve are ready to party!’_ Gunter burst out happily and Rosita nervous laugh could be heard in the background. This time Agent Jones didn’t miss a beat as she brushed off the unorthodox reply and the comms went silent as everyone held their breath in anticipation. The church was suddenly bursting with a cacophony of clapping and cheers as the couple kissed and began to make their way out of the church.

 

Johnny scanned the wedding party for an in and smirked to himself when he spotted a bored looking blonde draped on the arm of an equally bored groomsman. Johnny smoothly slipped in between them, breaking the groomsman’s loose hold easily. The groomsman gave him a bewildered glare but Johnny just winked at the bridesmaid and began escorting her down the aisle, only one couple between them and the assets.

 

“Hi.” His attention was momentarily drawn to the woman who was clinging tightly to his arms so that her bust was pressed alluringly against him. He spared her a charming smile and couldn’t resist laying on a pick up line.

 

“Well ‘ello there. I thought I’d better save ya before ya died of boredom eh?” She let out a high pitch giggle and gazed up at him with  a classic look that let him know she was hanging on his every word. He winked at her and turned his attention back to the couple as they made their way out of the church and into the bright light of the waiting day.

 

Johnny blinked quickly as his eyes tried to adjust to the sudden onslaught of daylight and once his eyes adjusted his attention turned to the crowd that was eagerly waiting for them to emerge. The onlookers were a mix of strangers and family members, as expected for a celebrity event, something that only made their job more difficult. Johnny winced slightly as they came to the top of the stairs and he got a clear view of the extent of the crowd. He tried to mutter subtly into the comm, _‘Angel ya got eyes on this crowd?'_

 

He heard a stuttered gasp from the other end before he got a slightly less tentative reply, _'I’m um… I’m monitoring from all angles. You focus on the people closest to the assets.’_ Johnny didn’t say anything as he returned to his survey of the crowd. Time seemed to slow down as the comm crackled in his ear once more and Ash’s low whisper echoed in his ear.

 

_'I’ve got a bad feeling guys.’_

 

That was when Johnny saw him. His clothes allowed him to blend in with the crowd but where everyone else was cheering and throwing rice, his face was impassive and the dark lenses of his sunglasses were focussed on the newlyweds. He smiled casually but every muscle in his body was tensed in anticipation.

 

_'Ash. My right, sunglasses, dark coat, scar on the cheek. Ya got eyes on ‘im?’_ There was a pause and up in the upper area of the choir seats Ash shifted her position so that her sights were trained on the crowd where Johnny had indicated. She scanned slowly and then  stopped when she finally found the suspect.

 

_'Yeah Pretty Boy I got eyes. He’s mighty suspicious I’ll give you that.’_ Ash watched from above as the man suddenly reached in his coat pocket and began to advance through the crowd towards the bride and groom.

 

_'Johnny. He’s advancing and…’_ she broke off as she watched him pull his hand out of his pocket, his fingers wrapped around, _'Gun. He’s gotta gun.’_

 

Ash barely had the words out when suddenly a signature cracking sound echoed through the street and a burning piece of metal buried itself into her shoulder with such force that she was thrown back from the window. All she could do for the first few seconds was listen to the panic below, the noises muffled as if they were coming from far away instead of the street below her. Her shoulder let out a particularly painful throb and the jolt of agony was enough for her to center back in on the mission. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a slightly strangled gasp. Another shot rang out and she gritted her teeth so she could force the words out to her scrambling teammates.

 

_'I got… another sniper…. I’ve been hit.’_ She gasped out before slumping back down onto the ground, trying to relieve the sudden lightness in her head. Her comm was a flurry of action as Agent Jones rapid fired orders to the rest of the team but she only heard whispers instead of commands.

 

Down on the street Johnny shook off his impromptu escort and grabbed the new couple by the arm, pushing forcefully through the crowd as people scattered left and right, trying to escape the invisible gunman. Gunter’s black SUV screeched to a stop half on the curb in front of them and Johnny pushed the couple into the backseat just as a bullet hit the thick bulletproof glass where the Duke’s head had been mere seconds before. In the same moment that Gunter tore away from the curb Rosita leapt out of the SUV with a medkit and disappeared into the crowd.

 

Johnny didn’t have time to think about where she was headed as Agent Jones barked out instructions for him, urging him to pursue the escaping suspect. He took a step forward just as another bullet buried itself in the concrete step, missing his head by mere inches. Reflexively he ducked down, trying to avoid the sniper while he ran. He could barely see through the throng of panicked civilians, but thankfully Agent Jones was in his ear, guiding him until finally he burst from the group and onto the street.

 

He caught sight of the suspect jogging down the sidewalk, still trying to remain undetected, and went running, pursued only by a flurry of sniper shots that he could feel burning on his heels. He cursed aloud and looked up wildly at the buildings around him for the source of the gunfire, but the chaos masked it perfectly.

 

The metallic smell of blood and gentle but firm hands on her back brought Ash back from the edge of oblivion. She could hear her blood pounding angrily in her ears but it slowly faded out to be replaced by the sound of Agent Jones imploring her to answer her comm. Her vision cleared gradually and she was met with the frustrated face of Rosita Tenny as she furiously dug through the medkit with one hand and put aching pressure on her wound with the other.

 

_'What?’_ Ash croaked into her comm as she gave Rosita a half-hearted glare. It went ignored  so she just wriggled irritably and glanced towards where her precious rifle lay skewed carelessly on the floor. 

 

There was a sigh of relief on the other side of the comm before Agent Jones spoke once more, _'Agent Fitch. I need you to take out the sniper. Can you do that?’_ Ash groaned and batted Rosita’s hands away from her when the older woman tried to stop her from getting to her feet. Ash stubbornly pulled herself over to the window, her bad arm dangling limply at her side.

 

“Fuck.” She muttered when pain lanced through the right side of her body like hot iron but she stubbornly ignored it in favor of propping her rifle up between her good shoulder and the window sill. Stubbornly Rosita continued to tend to her arm while she set up, muttering to her self all the while about stubborn young agents. Ash leaned her cheek into the familiar cold metal of the gun and took a deep steady breath. Her brain immediately focused in on her scope and only her scope, Rosita’s firm grip and even her pain fading out until it was only her and her rifle.

 

_'I’m on it.’_ She whispered and slowly scanned the rooftops, hunting for her prey. Just when the world was at its stillest and even her breathing had stopped another shot rang out and she was filled with a sense of intoxicating satisfaction.

 

“Gotcha ya bastard.”

 

She breathed in, her finger pressed down on the trigger, and then with a click and a spray of blood her revenge was complete. She carefully set aside her rifle and let the world fade back in. Rosita carefully propped her up against a wall and ripped open her shirt so that she could dig out the bullet lodged in her shoulder.

 

“This is gonna hurt sweetheart.” Rosita warned as she doused a needle with antiseptic and carefully threaded the medical stitching through it.

 

“Yeah yeah just get on with it.” Ash rolled her eyes and Rosita chuckled.

 

 

Johnny’s heart was pounding like a drum as he ran, the asphalt pounding against his feet with every step. The suspect obviously had a planned escape route and probably would have been lost to him by now if it wasn’t for an Angel’s voice in his ear telling him where to go. Never once in his life had Johnny been so grateful for traffic cameras. He turned a corner and found himself on a long straightaway, the suspect erratically weaving in and out of people on the sidewalk in an effort to throw him off. But this was where Johnny felt power surge through his limbs and he sped up until her was mere feet away from his quarry.

 

The man looked behind him and when he saw Johnny almost within arm’s distance he panicked and swerved into a nearby alley.

 

_’The alley is dead end. Subdue him. Don’t kill him.’_  Johnny laughed breathlessly as he slowed his run to a jog and cracked his knuckles.

 

_‘Love it when ya talk sweet ter me Angel.’_  He teased and advanced on the suspect who by now had realized that he was trapped and was glaring at him, fists raised at the ready.

 

“Big mistake.” He chuckled and like lightning his fist shot out and slammed into the man’s face like a hammer. His entire body bounced from the force of the shot and he stumbled backwards in an attempt to keep his balance. His sunglasses, however, did not survive the hit and fell onto the pavement, a shattered mess.

 

The man lunged forward and threw a couple of quick punches that Johnny deftly avoided, chuckling to himself the whole time. The suspect looked at him in confusion but Johnny just shrugged and gave him a crooked, cocky grin. He landed a solid kick to the man’s knees, sending him stumbling back once more, this time with a pronounced limp.

 

“Ya kna what? I’m gettin’ bored. And I wouldn’t wanna miss the cake at the reception.” He lunged forward and grabbed the man by his jacket, forcing him into a bent over position from which he kneed him in the gut before pulling him back up and battering him with barrage of punches. He delivered one last upper cut to his opponent before the man fell back onto the pavement with a solid thump.

 

Johnny blew on his fists like an old time cowboy and smirked at no one in particular. He pulled a zip tie out of his pocket and bound his unconscious opponent. He then proceeded to dust himself off as he dragged the suspect to the mouth of the alley. He looked around at the street where the civilians were being cleared out and a clean up team was arriving to pick up the suspect. 

 

Johnny strolled happily down the street, searching casually for an available cab to the reception.

 

“Now tha’s wot I call a weddin'.”


	5. Danger Zone

Ash woke up with a groan and her eyes were almost immediately assaulted by a bright white light accompanied by a steady beeping. She snarled in annoyance and tried to throw her arm over her eyes to shield herself from the stupid light but her limbs felt like literal dead weights and one of her arms wasn’t responding to her commands.

 

“Somebody turn out the fuckin’ lights.” She groaned and she heard a low chuckle that only made her grumpier, “And turn off that stupid alarm. It’s annoying as hell.”

 

“Well I guess you’re not really a morning person huh?” Ash squinted through her eyelashes, looking for the source of the voice until she found Johnny smirking at her from somewhere off to her left. She wasn’t quite sure where she was or why her alarm was still going off but if Johnny was next to her then that spelt trouble. She let out another groan and shifted so that she was facing him, only to be struck by the strong urge to slap the smirk right off his handsome face.

 

“Shut up.” He held his hands up in surrender and Ash blinked rapidly, trying to force her world to come back into focus but it stubbornly remained blurry, “How much did we drink?”

 

This particular hangover was worse than any other one that she had experienced before. She marveled at usually the new ache in her limbs, the fuzziness of her head and a strange burning sensation on her shoulder. Did she get a tattoo or something?! She was pulled out of her thoughts by Johnny laughed harder in his perch next to her. She briefly wondered why he was sitting in a chair instead of in bed with her but she was too annoyed by the British idiot laughing his head off next to her.

 

“Would you shut up? You’re so annoying. I can’t believe I slept with you.” She hissed at him and smirked when his laughter was suddenly stopped by a thick choking sound. She glared at him again and found him looking at her with wide eyes and his mouth gaping open. She raised an eyebrow at him and stared until he finally seemed to regain some semblance of brain function.

 

“Ash. We dinnae get drunk, we dinnae sleep together. Yer in a bloody ‘ospital. Ya got shot at the White Wedding.” Ash stared at him for what felt like an eternity, waiting for the room and subsequently her memories, to come back into focus. Suddenly she could look around and clearly see the white walls of a hospital, equipment and that stupid beeping of a heart monitor.

 

“Oh. Well thank god. That would’ve been a total mess.” She examined her arm, which was swathed in bandages and secured to her chest by a sling, and winced when she adjusted her position so that she could sit up and fix him with a smirk. Johnny glared at her in confusion and pouted a little bit as he scooted closer to her.

 

“Wot do ya mean it would ‘ave been a mess?” He grumbled and Ash just smirked at him before adopting a nonchalant look as she smoothed out her blankets. It took every ounce of her control to keep her face impassive while she messed with her friend. He just made it way too easy for her to work him up.

 

“Well you know… you would have gotten all clingy and needy and then I would have had to break your little heart.” She nodded sadly and watched smugly as Johnny’s face turned red and he sputtered, trying to get the words out to protest, “And then we wouldn’t be able to work together because you would just be too obsessed with me and well… messy.” She fixed him with a smug look, fully aware that he had caught on by now but his manly pride wouldn’t let him just sit there and  be insulted.

 

“Oh please! Ya got some big ego ya lil-“ His grumpy snarling was suddenly cut off when the door to her room opened and Buster came in. He took one look at Johnny’s angry face and Ash’s smug look and let out a heavy sigh. When had his job as a team leader for an elite squad turned into a babysitting gig?

 

“Alright you two, can’t you behave for at least one minute?” Buster gave them both a disapproving look and while Johnny’s anger melted away and he had the good sense to appear apologetic, Ash just stuck her tongue out at him and tried to look as pathetic as possible in order to avoid any punishment or lectures. Buster let out another heavy sigh but decided that since she had taken a bullet on a practice mission he might as well let her have her fun just this once. It wasn’t like she was going to listen to him anyways.

 

“Let’s let Ash get some rest hm?” He nodded to Johnny who quickly vacated his seat and headed out into the hallway, but not before shooting Ash a look and signaling that he was watching her. Ash just rolled her eyes and flipped him off with her good arm. Buster would have intervened if it wasn’t for the way Johnny laughed at her childish behavior. He incredulously watched the young agent walk down the hall and shook his head. He wasn’t sure that he would ever understand the strange friendship that had developed between his two main field agents and he wasn’t sure that he really wanted to. 

 

He turned to Ash, who was now fiddling with the remote and flipping through the channels, her small form looking especially pathetic in the middle of the large hospital bed. He did feel bad for her being stuck in the hospital and essentially taken off duty but he also knew her history so he couldn’t leave without one last well-meaning threat.

 

“Now you behave or I’ll put you on desk duty even after you’re healed up.” He pointed at her menacingly and fixed her with a serious look. She opened her mouth either to spout some bullshit about being a perfect patient or to protest desk duty, but he wasn’t particularly interested in listening.

 

“I mean it. I hear about any misbehavior, any escape attempts and I’ll bury you in paperwork faster than you can blink. Just rest and recover for once in your career.” Ash pouted and settled back in her pillows to grumpily stare at the TV, not really watching whatever was on the screen. Buster chuckled at her childish antics but as he closed the door her departing comment renewed his exasperated affection.

 

“Whatever dad.” 

 

He could almost see he sticking her tongue out at him, and the image caused his gentle laugh to turn into loud chuckles, earning him a few confused glances as he walked out of the hospital to find Johnny and Rosita waiting with the car. He eyed the black SUV that they had been issued by the agency and felt a pang of longing for the familiarity of his beaten up scooter, but his professionalism won out. If he had to ride in an obviously government SUV, so be it.

 

* * *

 

Rosita was nervously bouncing on her heels, scanning the hospital entrance, waiting for Buster to emerge. She glanced at her watch for what felt like the millionth time and cursed inwardly when she saw what time it was. The second that Buster appeared in the entrance to the hospital she dashed over to him, bursting with so much nervous energy that she could barely articulate her request.

 

“Oh Mister Moon. Thank goodness you’re here. I have an appointment that I completely forgot about and I was just wondering if maybe Johnny could drive you back to the HQ so I could try and make my appointment.” She managed to say everything in one breath and Buster watched her speak with wide, confused eyes and slight discomfort at her proximity. Rosita just continued to stare at him, waiting with bated breath for his reply and hoping against hope that he was truly as kind as he seemed and would let her go from her duties early.

 

Buster raised one eyebrow in bewilderment at her near frantic pleas and took one step back from where she was unknowingly invading his precious personal space bubble, “Oh um… of course Rosita that won’t be a problem.”

 

The words were barely out of his mouth before his stiff form was being swept up into an unsolicited hug as the petite blonde nearly squeezed the life out of him. She was gone nearly as quickly, dashing towards a waiting cab that he had somehow not noticed until now. She was spewing a constant stream of thank yous as she dashed away and all Buster could do was smile stiffly and try to shake off his discomfort at the invasion. He wasn’t even remotely used to contact of any kind and the effervescent personality and contact from the teams most bubbly member threw him for a loop.

 

Before Rosita could disappear into the cab he called out after her, trying to maintain some professionalism in their exchange, “Rosita! In the future keep me abreast of any appointments so that I can work them into the schedule.”

 

Rosita froze halfway into the cab and her pale cheeks lit up with an embarrassed hue of red as she smiled tentatively at him and slid the rest of the way in, “Sure thing Mister Moon.” With that she gave the cabby the address and they quickly merged into traffic and sped towards the other end of the city. Rosita glanced at her watch once more and the sinking feeling that had been lingering in her stomach grew stronger.

 

With nervous fingers she withdrew a small makeup mirror from her purse and went about checking what little makeup she had on. She was examining her eyeliner when she finally realized what she was doing and quickly snapped the mirror closed. She shoved it into her bag a little harder than was necessary and nervously drummed her fingers on her knee, praying that the cabby would move faster and somehow save her from the embarrassment of being late to her very first counseling appointment.

 

Being late was no way to make a good first impression and if she took any longer she would never hear the end of it from Norman, who was most likely awkwardly waiting for her in the lobby. She loved her husband with all of her heart but he was relatively hopeless in any and all social situations, hence the reason why he was a data analyst and not an agent.

 

She felt the cab slowing down and her gaze snapped ahead of them to examine the area. They were nearly there. She dug around in her purse for a twenty and as soon as the cab came to a stop she shoved it into the front of the car and practically leapt out of the vehicle. She tried to speed walk through the office building as casually as possible but she knew that she was wholly unsuccessful by the looks that she was getting from other people. 

 

She practically burst into the waiting room of the therapist’s office and Norman leapt to his feet from where he had been sitting in one of the chairs waiting for her. The other patients waiting looked up and watched the couple curiously as Rosita desperately tried to maintain her smile under the pressure of her nerves. Everything about the office made her uncomfortable and Norman was not helping by the way that he had taken her arm wand was grumpily leading her back to the therapist’s office.

 

“Where have you been Rosita? I’ve been waiting for almost twenty minutes.” He hissed out as they walked and Rosita felt her anger flare as she forced herself not to snap at her husband.

 

“I was with the team dear. I wasn’t aware that it would take this long.” She gritted out through her teeth and the fires of her anger rose when Norman just snorted and remained silent. once they entered the room, Rosita made a point of sitting on the far end of the couch, shooting Norman a look that clearly communicated how discontent she was with his attitude at that moment.

 

The look she received in return as he sat on the opposite end of the couch clearly communicated that he wasn’t entirely happy with her at the moment either. Rosita just huffed out a sigh and turned her best welcoming smile to the therapist who was watching their interaction very closely as she took notes on a large notepad.

 

Rosita felt any hopes that this would go smoothly disappear as soon as the therapist took off her glasses and gave them both a serious look. “Thank you for making it today Mrs. Tenny. I assume that in the future you will be on time for all sessions. After all, we want to take this situation seriously do we not?”

 

Rosita felt herself shrink under the woman’s glare and all she could do in reply was nod and let out a meek, “Yes of course.”

 

The woman, satisfied that she had made her point clear turned her attention back to the two of them instead of only on Rosita, “I can see that we have a lot of work to do here. Why don’t we start by sharing? Norman? Would you like to go first?”

 

Rosita glanced at her husband as he easily addressed a woman that was essentially a stranger, shock written all over her features. She quickly got over it as he started airing his grievances and Rosita let out a heavy sigh. She would give her right arm to be back in the garage, elbow deep in the SUV’s engine, taking it apart and souping it up to her specs. But she was here and there was no escape, or at least none that she could find, and she had looked.

 

* * *

 

After Rosita dashed away Johnny and Buster quietly climbed into the SUV and began the drive back to HQ. Johnny gripped the steering wheel like his life depended on it and tried to quell his inner debate over whether or not to share the details of the voicemail that his father had left him when he had been flying back to the city. 

 

_As soon as Johnny arrived in his tiny apartment he kicked off his shoes, shed his favorite leather jacket and slumped into the kitchen to find something to eat before he collapsed and slept for a week. As he passed his answering machine he hit the playback button and his messages began to play on speaker as he searched the fridge for a snack._

 

_The first two were from his pushy landlord and Johnny rolled his eyes as the old man struggled to leave a simple voicemail. When his ramblings ended Johnny shoved an apple into his mouth and shut the fridge door. He was halfway to his bedroom when the answering machine began to play out his father’s rough voice._

 

_'Johnny! Jeezus boy ya never ‘ave ya mobile on ya. Would it kill ya ter answer the phone once in awhile?’ Johnny rolled his eyes and leant in the doorway of his room, waiting for his father to get to the point._

 

_“Anyways, I got some news. Me and the boys got hired out fer a real big deal and I want ya ter come wif us. Bulldog wants us ter supervise a big arms deal down at the docks on Saturday and I could use yer ‘elp. This one could set us up fer life son. Bulldog ‘imself is gonna be there makin’ the deal. We get in good with him and we own dis city. Call me back when ya get this.” Johnny slowly put down his apple and stared at the answering machine incredulously, his heart pounding in his chest and his brain going haywire with excitement._

 

_Bulldog was the key weapons supplier for the syndicate and one of the five founding members. He was notoriously paranoid and would have been one of their hardest targets except now Johnny knew exactly where he was gonna be and when. He let out an excited whoop and quickly jotted down the information on a sticky note. They would arrest Bulldog and all of his accomplices in one foul swoop. He would be a hero in the agency for this bust._

 

_He flopped back onto his bed and suddenly his excited grin faded as he considered the fact that his father was now technically one of Bulldog’s associates and the bust would probably result in his arrest as well. Suddenly he felt sick to his stomach as his worst fear was slowly becoming true. He had known that he couldn’t keep his secret from his father forever but he never imagined that his dad would have to find out while his own son arrested… betrayed him. But at the same time Johnny knew that his father was a criminal and his arrest was an eventuality and arresting Bulldog would save a lot of lives._

 

_He spent the rest of his night staring at the ceiling, wrestling with his decision and his heart._

 

Johnny glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror and winced when he saw the faded purple bruises under his eyes, evidence that he hadn’t slept since receiving the message that would change his entire life. Johnny glanced over at Buster who was poring over the files of their targets, trying to determine their first real move as a team.

 

Johnny caught sight of the sheet labeled Bulldog and winced when he saw the picture of the man. He was obviously huge and his bald head was covered in scars and tattoos as he glared back at the camera, his eyes cold and dead inside. This man was dangerous, a stone cold killer, ad they had a chance to get rid of him. In that moment Johnny knew what he had to do. It would hurt to give up the information to Buster but he was doing it for the right reasons, and hopefully he could stay as far away from it as possible. He cleared his throat and nervously turned his gaze back to the road, not really focusing on the traffic that he was weaving through.

 

“I got a call from my dad last night when we got back…” He started out, his voice cracking slightly with nerves as he adjusted his sweaty grip on the steering wheel, “He wants me to go with the gang to a big arms deal at the docks on Saturday.”

 

Buster glanced up at him and gave him a confused glance. He was aware of the young agent’s family ties and criminal history but they had never been a problem before and Johnny was always able to keep from participating in his father’s heists without revealing who he was working for. That didn’t mean that the agency didn’t keep a sharp eye on the Bannerton family but they were a minor threat if anything, a matter for the local police.

 

“Why are you telling me? We don’t handle small time arms dealers.” He examined Johnny’s stiff posture and the way that he nervously licked his lips before he spoke. There was definitely something wrong, or at least something important going on here. He quickly closed his files and turned all of his attention over to Johnny.

 

“Because this isn’t small time.” Johnny took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel so tight that his fingers started to turn white from the lack of blood flow, “The reason ‘e wants me in on it is cause 'e’s been invited as muscle for… The Bulldog.”

 

“The Bulldog?! This is perfect!” Buster’s face lit up with excitement and a grin blossomed on his face as he processed the information that Johnny had just given him. One of the most elusive members of the Syndicate was going to be at an arms deal at the docks on Saturday. The universe was practically handing him a golden opportunity on a platter. There was no way that they could mess this up. 

 

"Exactly the break that we needed. If we can take out the Bulldog at this meet then we’ll be one step closer to taking down the syndicate. Not to mention essentially freezing their major weapons supply.” He mumbled to himself before turning the full force of his excitement on the conflicted form of his agent. Deciding that the boy deserved some praise for the risk that he was taking, Buster clapped a hand on the young man’s shoulder.

 

"Well done Johnny! I’ll start planning the undercover operation after my meeting with Director Noodleman. This is fantastic Johnny. Just fantastic!” He excitedly opened his folder and began furiously scribbling notes about how best to stage the takedown. 

 

He was so wrapped up in his planning that he didn’t notice the way Johnny’s entire form sagged and his face paled at the words ‘undercover operation’. Buster had unknowingly dashed his hopes of preserving his relationship with his father. The only person who could go undercover was him and that meant that he would have to betray his father and his uncles right in front of their faces. He felt sick to his stomach and his head started pounding with a headache as he glared at the cars in front of him.

 

“Yeah…. fantastic”

 

* * *

 

When Johnny dropped him off at the Agency HQ, Buster was still scribbling furiously on his notepad, already making note of the gear that they would need, how much backup was necessary, recon, etc. He hopped gratefully out of the SUV and didn’t even glance back at it as Johnny pulled away and disappeared down the street. 

 

Buster hurried into the towering office building, smiling at the impassive guards who just nodded and then returned to monitoring the security cameras. Buster stepped into the elevator in the far left, pressed the buttons for floors 3, 9, and 7 and then pressed the door open button twice.

 

‘Code Accepted.’ A computerized voice echoed through the small space and suddenly the elevator shot upwards towards the Director’s office, which was probably the last place that Buster ever wanted to visit. However, now that he was armed with Johnny’s information and the good news of the progress of their operation he was confident that he could turn this visit away from the chewing out that it was almost guaranteed to be.

 

He took a deep calming breath, preparing himself for the irate woman that he would find on the other side of those doors. As soon as the elevator stopped and the doors opened to let him out he bustled through the long hallway, past a secretary that didn’t even so much as glance at him and into Director Noodleman’s office.

 

“Nana!” He greeted as charmingly as possible as he approached the desk where Nana Noodleman was glaring at him over the top of her spectacles, “How long has it been since we last saw each other face to face? I must say that you haven’t aged a day!”

 

He laughed nervously and pulled at his collar when Nana just continued to silently glare at him from her desk. Finally she rose to her considerable height, towering over Buster as she walked past him to the door to her office. She slammed it closed and then pointed to the small chair positioned in front of her desk. Buster felt his confidence fade with each step and when he finally sat down in the seat he was already picturing the many ways that Nana could kill him and no one would ever know.

 

Nana slowly made her way back to her desk but instead of sitting down she placed her hands on the desk and leant forward so that Buster was forced to shrink down in his seat, that nervous grin still plastered onto his face.

 

“Would you like to explain to me why you sent a team specifically assembled to take down the Syndicate to act as bodyguards at a royal wedding?” She hissed out and Buster gulped down the fear that rose in his throat and insisted that he beg for forgiveness before she threw him out of a window and called it an accident. He opened his mouth tell her about the training purposes of the mission when suddenly she pushed off her desk and slowly walked over to the window.

 

“And would you also explain how your team managed to turn such an event into a sniper shootout and an action movie chase scene?!” Her voice rose in volume and fury as she continued, not really giving Buster a chance to answer the questions that were supposedly directed at him. As she continued to rant about his incompetence and the international incident that they had almost caused by just being there Buster made the decision not to tell her that his agent with family ties to the criminal underground was going on an undercover mission with said family. What she didn’t know wouldn’t result in his dismemberment.

 

“I’m done with the games Moon. You request a R.E.D. asset and put her in control of the tech rather than using her for her purposes, your troublemaker sniper ends up in the hospital and that German buffoon got drunk at the reception. What do you think this is? The CIA? We are the Agency. We are subtle, we don’t leave traces, and we don’t partake in a client’s wedding cake!!”

 

She roared out, her fists clenched as her face turned red and her curly black hair bobbed with the force of her fury. Buster could only nod in agreement and meekly smile up at her in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

 

“I understand Director. It won’t happen again I swear. The team is nothing if not professional and this mission is in good hands.” Buster chuckled and clutched his dossier to his chest as if it would protect him from her. Nana just rolled her eyes and sat back down in her chair, leaning back into the hard wood and steepling her fingers in front of her face as she examined him.

 

“It had better be Agent Moon, or I will make sure that it’s in someone else’s capable hands. Am I clear?” Buster just nodded, his face white as a sheet as he looked up at her. Nana smirked in the face of his fear and pressed a button on her desk that linked her intercom to her secretary’s.

 

“Send him in.” She commanded and seconds later the door to her office opened to admit a tall, lanky man with big curly blank hair and a messy suit. His tie was tied wrong and hung loose around his neck, one sleeve was rolled up while the other was down and unbuttoned and his white shirt had a big coffee stain on the front.

 

“Hey Buster.” Eddie Noodleman waved tentatively at his childhood friend before falling silent under his grandmother’s glare. Buster nodded to his friend and then turned to look at Nana with a thoroughly confused expression.

 

“Obviously you remember my grandson Edward.” She sighed exasperatedly as she glanced over grandson with a critical eye before shaking her head and turning her severe gaze back to Buster, “I’m assigning him to your team as my liaison. His job is to observe and report to me on the progress of your team.”

 

“Yes ma’am.” Buster nodded, slightly relieved that of all of the agents she could have chosen she picked one of his good friends. Nana probably didn’t realize the advantage that she had given Buster and there was no way that he was going to be the one to tell her that.

 

“Good. now both of you get out of here. I have work to do.” She slipped her glasses back on and looked down at the files covering her desk, essentially ignoring them and ending the meeting. Buster and Eddie simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief as they left the office and shared the elevator down to the lobby, chatting amicably the whole way.

 

As they parted ways outside the building Eddie clapped a hand on his back and gave his friend a big smile, “See ya for pizza and video games tomorrow night Boss?” He teased and Buster just laughed at him, increasingly happy that Eddie was joining his team. He had honestly missed spending time with his friend as his duties as team leader took over most of his free time.

 

“Yep. I’ll be there.” He replied and Eddie walked backwards away from him, still grinning like an idiot.

 

“Sweet!” And with that he turned around and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Buster to search for a cab back to the theatre hideout. Things were starting to look up: he had a lead, his best friend was coming to work for him, and he had survived another encounter with Nana. Yes, fortune was truly smiling down upon him.

 

* * *

 

Johnny parked the SUV in the underground garage of the theatre hideout and sat in the driver’s seat for a second trying to collect himself. After a few minutes he still didn’t feel better, rather he now had the urge to wander around hideout, just to move and work off some of the nervous energy that had been building in him since last night. He hopped out of the SUV and began to make his way through the garage, his hands shoved in his pockets and his eyes downcast.

 

He wandered through Rosita’s area, peeking at the mess of parts that covered her work table. He considered sifting through them, if only to satisfy his own curiosity, but thought better of it when he saw the DO NOT TOUCH sign that had been placed over the gadgets. He valued his life too much to disobey Rosita when it came to her machines.

 

Deciding to put as much distance between himself and Rosita’s station as he possibly could Johnny hurried through the halls and wandered aimlessly through the maze of passageways. He stopped in his tracks when he suddenly heard the faint sounds of music coming from somewhere nearby. It was obviously eighties rock, an odd genre for anyone on the team to listen to. Johnny smirked and found himself sneaking down the hallways in search of the source.

 

When he finally found it he found himself standing in front of a door labeled MISSION CONTROL. He  shrugged and slowly inched the door open so that he could peek inside. The room was covered in computer screen and files and seemed all but empty until Johnny turned his head and found himself looking at a sight that stopped his heart mid-beat.

 

A curvy African American woman was dancing around a computer as it loaded some unknown software, her eyes closed and her body relaxed as she moved. Her moves were really defined, it was more like she was letting her body sway wherever it wanted to, like she was only in for the ride that the music took her on.

 

Her long curly hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail that was gradually coming undone as she moved so that strands of hair fell across her hair and caressed her skin. Her plump lips were parted slightly as she mouthed along to the words and Johnny felt the sudden urge to gather her up in his arms and claim those lips as his own. 

 

He looked down at his own hands in surprise as if they had betrayed him, this girl was not his usual type. The women he went over had barely any body fat and wore clothes that left nothing to the imagination. This voluptuous stranger was wearing simple jeans, converse and a comfortable sweatshirt that made Johnny wonder what exactly she was hiding under there.

 

This was new territory and he had to tread carefully but nothing could stop a little flirting, even if every fiber in his being was screaming for him to claim her as his own. Johnny tamped down his rebellious heart and slipped into the room, using the beat of the music to disguise his footsteps until he was standing in front of the bouncing woman.

 

He was about to say something when suddenly she whipped her hair past his face and he was hit by the comforting scent of lilacs and peaches. His brain stuttered to a stop and all he could think about was how he wanted to surround himself in that scent forever. Johnny let himself bask in the moment for a second before he forced himself to revert back to the suave player that he had always been, a comfortable place where his heart was safe and he was in control.

 

“Well ‘ello there.” He said over the music and the woman froze like a statue, her eyes snapping open to reveal bright blue crystals that twinkled in the low light of the mission control room. She flushed all over, the redness leaking down her neck as she fumbled to turn off the music and regain some sense of professionalism. Johnny was too mesmerized by her eyes to notice.

 

“Agent Bannerton.” She breathed out, obviously embarrassed, but a fissure of recognition shot through Johnny and he looked at the gorgeous woman in a new light, “Wh-what are you doing here so late?”

 

Johnny grinned crookedly at her, projecting charm even as his insides squirmed nervously, “Well obviously I came up ‘ere ter meet ya Angel.” he winked and Agent Jones turned even redder, her eyes widening slightly in confusion.

 

“M-my name is Meena.” She stuttered out and Johnny captured her hand, bringing it to his lips so he could whisper against her skin before he kissed it.

 

“Tha’s a beautiful name Angel.” He chuckled when she let out a squeak in response and snatched her hand back as soon as he released it.

 

“I-I don’t understand.” She said as she backed up slightly, glancing nervously at her computer as if hoping that it would provide some escape. However, the screen only displayed a loading bar that was nowhere near close to disappearing.

 

“Daan’t understand wot love?” He asked, running a hand through his hair in hat he hoped was a suave move but was actually leaking with nerves. She gave him a tentative smile that sent his heart pounding and then looked down at the floor.

 

“W-we barely know each other. Wh-why do you call m-me Angel?” She wrung her hands nervously and Johnny took a step closer into her personal space.

 

“Well tha’s easy love. Cause yer sweet voice came down and saved me from a death by boredom.” He lightly ran his fingers over her cheek and grinned when she shuddered at his touch. She tried to say something in response, anything but she seemed frozen like a deer in headlights, completely at his mercy.

 

“Who coulda known that you’d be so pretty to boot?” His grin grew as her blush spread and she seemed to move a little bit closer to him, surrender glinting in those magical eyes. Johnny was about to seal the deal with a kiss, as per usual, when suddenly his phone rang and the loud noise startled both of them.

 

Meena quickly moved away from him and to one of her other computers, mumbling to herself about system upgrades and other techno babble that went right over his head but didn’t turn him off in the least. Oh no she was smart too, how dare she draw him in when he wasn’t ready? How dare she catch him off guard and look at him like that?

 

It wasn’t fair.

 

He grumpily grabbed at his phone and groaned when he saw that it was his landlord calling again. He looked up to Meena who was looking at him shyly, her eyes wide with curiosity and her pupils blown wide from their almost intimate encounter.

 

“I guess I gotta go Angel. I’ll see ya tomorrow right?” He winked when Meena nodded wordlessly and gave her a little wave as he disappeared back into the hallway, his cell phone pressed to his ear. Meena watching him go on the security cameras until he was gone and suddenly she could breathe again.

 

She gulped in breaths of air and cursed his ability to put her under his spell just like every other woman. She may have been locked down in cyber crimes but she knew about Johnny Bannerton and his reputation with women. She sat down in her chair and groaned and rubbed her hands over her face, trying to steel her resolve.

 

She could handle casual flirting. She could show him that he wouldn’t be able to seduce her so easily. She had too much dignity to become another notch in his bedpost. He had never met a woman like her before, she would make sure of that. The ding of her download finishing drew her back to her beloved computers and threw all thoughts of Johnny out the window. Her software took over the computers in the room and mission control was immediately transformed into her own personal lair.

 

_Welcome to the Danger Zone_ she thought as she flipped on her music and resumed dancing around the room.


	6. Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Johnny sat squished into the cracked leather of his father’s old truck, half of his body pressed painfully up against the driver’s side door, the handle digging a new home for itself in between his ribs every time one of the truck’s passengers shifted. He had been driving in circles for what felt like hours, following his father’s directions as they were grunted out from his spot next to him. Big Daddy’s face was pulled into a self-satisfied smirk, obviously proud that his small time gang was being called in for a big league weapons operation. It was the smirk that his father always got when he knew that a job was going to go smoothly. It was this smirk that only made the heavy stone of guilt sink deeper into the pit of despair that had become Johnny’s stomach.

Marcus “Big Daddy” Bannerton cut an intimidating figure, even hunched over in the cab of their truck. His hulking muscles were concealed partially by a silk purple button up and black slacks, an outfit which he accented with a golden chain around his neck. He was every bit a muscle man with a jaw so sharp that he could cut steel and dangerous grey eyes that had been able to cut straight through Johnny since he was a little kid. Johnny’s uncles, Stan and Barry, were in the bed of the truck, matching grins on their faces as they casually looked around their vehicle for threats. They seemed relaxed but Johnny had known them long enough to recognize the way that their muscles were tensed and the manner in which their eyes darted around vigilantly. They may be small time criminals but to be a good heist man you need to be extremely observant. For the first time ever, Johnny found himself cursing the fact that he was their blindspot, that they would never suspect him to be the danger all along.

When his father had shown up in the truck to pick him up, Johnny had been sitting on the steps, idly fiddling with his hair and dreading the operation with every bone in his body. In the briefing Buster had seemed downright cheery at the prospect of a new lead and a break in their case and his mood had been infectious to everyone except Johnny who had slumped in his chair, half listening to the briefing and half wrestling with his conscience. He was still conflicted as he slid into the driver’s seat and gave his father a half hearted smile. Big Daddy had been too distracted by his own excitement to even notice Johnny’s lack of enthusiasm. Johnny could feel his father’s critical gaze on his casual outfit of jeans and his favorite leather jacket as he turned yet another corner, but he only shifted slightly to hide his near invisible earpiece and glanced in his mirrors in a way that he hoped looked casual.

Meena had insisted on him having an earpiece and Rosita had quickly designed one that could be hidden under close range so that neither his family nor the Bulldog would catch on too quickly. Normally Johnny would have been mesmerized by Rosita’s display of engineering prowess but he had just silently placed the device in his ear and sent out his millionth prayer to the universe. He couldn’t decide whether or not he was asking for a successful operation but putting his pleas out there couldn’t really hurt anything more than he was about to. His only solace in this operation was that he was supposed to remain undercover for the entire op and his father would see him arrested along with everyone else, effectively absolving him from suspicion in his family’s eyes. He was just dreading having to live with another secret.

After a few more turns and casual stops, their winding path ended in the city docks. As he pulled the truck to a stop and shut off the idling engine, Johnny felt his heartbeat pickup and his hands start to sweat. Usually he was much calmer in undercover situations, he didn’t get to be the best of the best by freaking out whenever he ran into a dangerous situation, but this was different. This was leagues away from his comfort zone and every instinct was screaming to abandon ship before things got too out of hand. Before he could do anything rash he caught sight of a familiar sedan tucked back into an alleyway. Johnny knew that Rosita and Gunter had been tailing him since they left his building and it shouldn’t have been a surprise to see them, even if it only was for a second, but the sudden reminder that his team was here, that Meena was in his ear, that he was not alone, was an ultimate shock to his system. He knew in theory that they were all there as backup, support, but it only felt like they were spectators in the end of his integrity, lining up to see a kid from the streets betray his criminal family. The feeling of the figurative spotlight being placed on his every movement put him on edge and Johnny suddenly found himself nervously bouncing on his feet in an effort to get rid of some of the energy building up inside of him. He pulled his leather jacket closer around his body as the chilly sea air washed over him, cutting straight through to the bone. He glanced at his father and uncles, only to find them staring grim-faced into the night, seemingly unaffected by the cold and the cyclone of emotions that were threatening to suck him up and destroy him.

They walked further down the docks, Johnny trailing uncertainly behind the gang, his hands shoved as deep into his pockets as he could get them. His shaking fingers brushed against the titanium handcuffs that Rosita had made for him in case things went awry. The cold metal reminded him of his reasons for joining the agency, of his strong sense of justice and the duty that he had to preform that night. After a few minutes of walking they came upon a sea of burly looking men unloading crates from a huge shipping container. For a second Johnny just thought that they were everyday dockworkers unloading normal cargo, and then he saw the machine guns and weapons strapped to their bodies. The icy gazes of trained killers followed their every move but made no move to stop their progress. Johnny felt another shiver run through his body as he thought about just how many people had lost their lives to the men that surrounded them so completely. He brushed off his flash of fear and straightened up as their small group practically waded through crates of weapons over to a hulking shape of man who stood in the very center of everything. As they got closer Johnny felt his focus zero in. This man was most definitely the source of the degrading commands that echoed through the night air and hung above the workers like smoke and that could only mean one thing.

He was big, and even that observation was an understatement. He easily towered over Big Daddy and his muscles shone grotesquely in the moonlight, his pale skin only making the darkness of the ink that covered every inch of available skin glow deeper. His hard face was red with exertion as he yelled out orders to the men in between hits of his cigar, but Johnny could only stare at the vein that was furiously and visibly pumping blood through his veins.

“Ah! Finally!” Suddenly the boom of the Bulldog turned towards them and Johnny followed his father’s example, stopping a few feet away from the Bulldog. His every instinct was bristling at the sight of this man and he muscles twitched in response when the hulking figure suddenly swept towards them, his arms open wide and his smile sickeningly wide in what Johnny thought was supposed to be welcoming.

“Big Daddy!” He crowed and Johnny felt vile rise up into his throat when Bulldog swept his father up into an embrace like they were old friends. As he swallowed his disgust Johnny watched his normally stoic father grin at the Bulldog and pat him on the back.

“Bulldog!” Johnny felt his stomach roll but he saw the wariness in his father’s eyes. At least his dad knew that Bulldog was bad news, that could be his one small comfort in this clusterfuck of a situation.

“Sorry We’re so late.” His father never apologized. It was like he was watching a stranger in that moment, like this whole night was some kind of twisted dream.

“We wanted ter make sure tha’ we wasn’t followed.” Johnny’s focus faded slightly as his comm suddenly flared to life and a familiar voice filled his head.

 _‘Agent Bannerton? I’ve infiltrated the dock’s surveillance system and backup is enroute. I need you to stall him until they get there. We go on my signal. Scratch your neck if you understand.’_ Her voice relaxed him somewhat, gave him something else to focus on rather than the suffocating guilt that had been slowly strangling him for days. He let out a breath and scratched his chin with one hand, careful not to let his gaze stray from his father and the Bulldog.

 _‘Confirmed…. Hang in there Johnny.’_ The soft encouragement made his lips curl into a small smile and his heart fluttered a little in his chest. His moment of peace was promptly shattered when the raspy booming voice of the Bulldog suddenly turned from his father to him.

“And you must be Johnny! Your dad has been talking my ear off about getting you on this job.” Johnny faltered slightly as a thick arm came down across his shoulders and his form buckled under the weight of it. He grunted and gave the hulking man a tentative smile as he was firmly steered towards the crate that the Bulldog had been examining. He found himself face to face with a perfect arsenal, complete with automatic rifles, grenades, and even handguns. His eyes widened and he mentally took a picture of the weapons, trying to remember as much as he could about what he had seen.

He was pulled from his examination by a sinister chuckle to his left. he looked over to see Bulldog examining the weapons too, a kind of primal hunger glinting in his eyes. he reached out with one meaty hand and his thick fingers caressed the metal of the automatic rifle like one would a lover. He licked his dry, cracking lips and then looked up to meet Johnny’s surprised gaze.

“Beautiful ain’t they?” He whispered and then burst out into a deep laugh that brought goosebumps to Johnny’s entire body. He couldn’t look at those soulless, hungry grey eyes for another second, and frantically searched for something else to look at. His father appeared at Johnny’s side, clapping a large hand on his son’s back as he chatted amicably with the Bulldog. Johnny tried to look disinterested in their conversation, looking over the guns instead, but his ears strained to hear what they were saying.

“Sure is a lot a’ merchandise.” Big Daddy commented and when prompted, picked up one of the assault rifles to examine it.

“Top of the line, black market weapons. Serial numbers are so gone that not even the best cop in the world could trace them.” Bulldog laughed and Johnny heard the clicks of the weapon as his father examined it.

“Nothin’ but da best from ya. Eh, Bulldog?” Johnny heard his father chuckle and then the weapon reappeared in the cushioning of the crate. Johnny looked up from the guns and carefully turned his gaze back to Bulldog who had turned around to bark orders at his men. The stream of weapons crates flowing from the shipping container seemed endless as one particular crate was extracted by the goons and carefully moved over to where Bulldog was standing, his hands on his hips and his expression alight with some sick form of excitement.

When the crate finally arrived in front of them Big Daddy, Stan and Barry hurried over to help pry the lid off, but Johnny spared the weapons one last look before slowly following them over to the new crate. By the time he walked over the lid had been pried off and everyone was leaning over the lip of the crate, their eyes wide with such awe that Johnny found himself unable to look at his family, the men that he had known his entire life.

Fighting his own revulsion, Johnny forced himself to peer into the crate and dread immediately joined revulsion in the churning of his stomach. Delicately packed into the crate were a couple slabs of C4, obviously a sample size enough to make a fairly large explosion, innocently resting in the crate. Johnny watched the Bulldog roll up the sleeves of his button up, revealing more tattooed skin. Johnny knew that he should be listening to what they were saying about the explosives, but he the myriad of images permanently rendered in skin drew him in.

The tattoos were a random collection of skulls that snaked their way up the man’s arm and under his sleeve. Each skull was distinct in its design and had accents that somehow made each one… special. Johnny was puzzling over a collection of seven skulls in a row, all sporting sunglasses and A’s carved into their forehead, when suddenly the conversation stopped and the attention turned to him. He didn’t notice until he could practically feel the Bulldog’s gaze burning into him.

He quickly looked up, his mind scrambling for words, looking for something to say that would pull him away from the edge of suspicion, but it turned out to not be necessary as Bulldog’s grin curled into a malicious smirk and he thrust his arm closer to Johnny’s face.

“Ya like my tattoos boy?” There was a pregnant pause as Johnny’s brain reeled over the fact that he was still in the clear, that this sicko was showing off his tattoos, and that his father was watching them interact with a smile on his face. Finally Johnny nodded in confirmation, prompting the Bulldog to once again wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him closer to his chest.

Johnny fought not to wrinkle his nose in disgust as he was immediately assaulted with the stale smell of sweat and cigar smoke, mixed with the unmistakeable smell of gunpowder. Johnny briefly wondered if the man ever heard of bathing but his attention was quickly pulled back to the tattoos as they were practically shoved in his face.

“Ya gotta earn these tattoos boy.” He chuckled and the stink of his breath only made Johnny shudder in response. Bulldog seemed to interpret the movement positively as he chuckled darkly and rotated his arm, showcasing his favorite skulls.

“I got this one for taking down a cop that just wouldn’t quit sniffing around.” The skull had a police badge stamped into its forehead and gunshots riddling the bone around it. Johnny had to force himself to grin up at the arm’s dealer before another skull was being shoved in his face.

“And this one comes from a government type down in the middle of nowhere who gave me a little bit of shipping trouble. If ya catch my drift?” He laughed and Johnny stared down at the skull wrapped in foreign colors and covered in animal scratch marks.

“And these are my favorite ones here.” His arm rolled so that it was focused on the seven skulls, lined up as if in front of a firing squad, “They’re for a squad of troublemakers that tried to get in the way of my bosses. Had to make an example of them.”

“What is the A for?” Johnny heard himself asked but it felt as if someone else had taken control of his body and was using it to their heart’s content. Bulldog let out a sinister chuckle and held Johnny in a tighter, almost punishing grip.

“It’s for their little group. Call themselves the Agency.” Johnny felt his blood run cold and his breath catch in his throat. He stumbled back as Bulldog finally released him and turned back to his precious crate of explosives. He heard a distinct ringing in his ears as the rest of the world tuned out and his brain raced to catch up with this new revelation.

 _‘-ent Bannerton. Johnny! Focus. We’re ready to move in, I need you to get away from Bulldog. As soon as you are in position we will strike. Be ready.’_ Johnny found himself nodding and quickly stopped the motion, taking a deep breath and wandering over to where his father and Bulldog were discussing the explosives. His uncles were no longer with them, and Johnny thought he caught sight of them helping with the unloading but he couldn’t be sure. All he knew was that he needed and wanted to get as far away from Bulldog as he possibly could before everything went to shit.

“Dad.” He got his father’s attention and strength flowed through him once more as the trained agent in him took over the ingrained instincts of a son, “I think I should go ‘elp or summit. I’m sick of standin’ around.”

His father’s expression darkened at his tone but before he could open his mouth to scold him, Bulldog let out a little chuckle and dismissively waved a hand at both of them.

“Ya gotta admire the kid’s work ethic.” He chuckled before turning back to his inspection. Big Daddy grabbed Johnny by the arm and began to lead him over to the shipping container to start unloading.

“Ya bettah control tha’ mouth of yers boy.” He dad growled but Johnny just nodded quietly and helped him lift and move a crate through the yard to where they were being stacked off to the side. They were just setting it down when chaos broke out.

“Bulldog! Down on the ground! We have you surrounded!” The call rang out through the shipping yard and everything seemed to freeze in place as the mood changed on a dime. One single shot rang out and then the yard exploded with the sound of gunshots as the goon’s fired into the night and the agency returned fire. Johnny stood frozen against the crates, watching bullets zing every which way as man hit the ground everywhere around them. Suddenly agents poured into the yard and goons began to fall left and right, some sporting fresh bullet holes, others bound tightly in handcuffs.

It was at that point that Bulldog picked the machine guns up out of the nearest crate and began to haphazardly fire into the crowd of clashing groups. He paid no heed to the danger of hitting his own men, his gaze ablaze with morbid excitement, illuminated only by the flash of the gun muzzles as he rained down bullets. The agency returned fire and while some shots hit Bulldog, he just laughed louder and continued firing.

More shots rang out and suddenly Bulldog’s entire form and the immediate area around him was engulfed in flames the surged up into the night, blinding Johnny with the intensity and deafening him to the sounds of the continued fight.

The C4. Someone had hit the C4. He thought absently as he was roughly yanked off of his feet and pulled behind the crates by his father. His head was still reeling as he watched his father shake him slightly, asking if he was ok in a voice that sounded far away to his still-ringing ears. he watched dispassionately as his father checked around the corner, the yard now completely lit up by the flickering of the explosion’s flames.

He had known that the night would devolve into something like this at some point, but explosions and gun fights had never even crossed his mind. Suddenly the world came back into focus, zeroing in on his father as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a shiny pistol, bracing himself up against the crates as he got ready to join the fray.

“Dad!” He yelled out of reflex, and Big Daddy glanced back at him questioningly, the pistol still grasped tightly in his hand, his finger dancing over the trigger.

“Wot are ya doin’ dad?!” He yelled, gesturing to the gun, horror and shock running through him as he watched his father frown and grip the gun tightly to his chest.

“I’m defendin’ myself!” Big Daddy roared back and Johnny rose to his feet so that he could move closer to his father. Big Daddy watched him approach with an unreadable look and Johnny fixed him with a pleading one in return, his hands out.

“With a gun dad?! Ya nevah used a gun before!” He yelled over the gunfire and for a moment he saw his father’s expression flicker with guilt as he looked at his son. His grip on the gun slowly loosened but tightened once more as footsteps neared their position and another henchmen ran past, firing haphazardly at the agents. Johnny watched in horror as the man’s body was ripped apart by a wall of bullets that met his advance. In that moment Johnny saw the determination burning bright in his father’s eyes just as clearly as he saw the most probable outcome.

His father would end up just like the man bleeding out on the concrete. So Johnny forced himself to do the one thing that he had promised himself that he would never do in front of his father. He lunged forward, his handcuffs in his hand and in a flurry of movement disarmed his father and handcuffed his hands behind his back. Before he could get a good grip on his father’s arms Big Daddy shook him off and rounded on his son with such fury and confusion like Johnny had never seen before.

“Wot the fuck do ya think yer doin’?!” He roared and struggled against the handcuffs. For once Johnny was grateful that he had seen his father practice breaking out of handcuffs. He watched Big Daddy strain with all of his might, but the handcuffs refused to break, Rosita’s super strength metal doing its job.

“My job dad.” Johnny fought to keep the stutter out of his voice as he gave his father a blank glare and thrust his chin out in some attempt to project strength. He watched a million emotions fly across his father’s face until he settled on hurt and overpowering anger. His whole face contorted as he got to his feet and let out a furious roar that shattered Johnny’s heart. He had never seen his dad so angry, and for it to be directed at him, he took a wary step backwards, the foreign fear of his father’s wrath working its way under his skin.

He didn’t expect his father to lunge at him, but Big Daddy bared his teeth and lurched forward menacingly, the fire in his eyes causing Johnny to stumble back and watch in terror as his father lunged towards him menacingly. Just as he was about to impact Johnny and do untold damage, he was yanked back by the strong hands of various agents, and wrestled to the ground. Despite his struggling they managed to hold him down.

Johnny watched as his father was swarmed by agents until only his furious face was left, pressed into the ground but still burning a hole into Johnny with the force of his ire. Johnny just sat there in shock as his father roared out to him.

“How did I end up wiff a son loike you, eh?! You’re nuffin loike me! Ya never were, and ya never will be!” He spat on the concrete and looked away from his stricken son as he was hauled up and escorted away. Johnny just sat there gaping, his mouth open wide in shock and his heart pounding loudly in his ears. Shakily, he got to his feet and walked on uncertain feet out into the center of the yard.

By now the gunfight had ceased an everyone who wasn’t dead was being loaded into a prison transport vehicle. Johnny didn’t even register the fires or the other bodies as his gaze stayed glued to the truck that his father was being loaded into. His uncles were already slumped against the walls and they perked up as soon as Big Daddy was shoved into the small space. Johnny saw their expressions as they looked back and forth between him and his father before pointedly looking away from Johnny. Johnny felt his heart break in his chest and tears well up behind his eyes as the door slammed on the van and the only family he had ever known was taken away.

He stood in the middle of the chaos, agents rushing around him, taking a death count and securing the scene. He turned around slowly and watched the crates around where the Bulldog had been standing mere minutes ago burn with a fury. He took a deep shuddering breath and just stared into the flames, every part of him going slowly numb as he tried to process what exactly was happening, had happened, to him.

Finally after what felt like an eternity he turned around and stormed his way through the crowds, past the other agents, past Rosita and Gunter, until he was running so fast that every breath burned in his lungs. When he finally reached his truck he leapt into the front seat, fumbling slightly with the keys before he practically shoved them into the ignition. The truck roared to life and he slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, his tires squealing with a fury as he sped away from the shipyard. He heard a voice in his ear, his comm crackling to life.

 _‘Agent Bannerton? Agent Bannerton! Report in! Johnny! Please Johnny we- I need to know that you’re okay!’_ Her voice promised redemption, safety, acceptance, everything he needed int that moment, but it was contradicted by a voice that sounded suspiciously like his father’s repeating over and over that he didn’t deserve it, he didn’t deserve good things in this world. He didn’t deserve **her**.

Johnny ripped out his earpiece, cutting of her siren’s call and putting him in a suffocating silence that seemed to build with intensity every moment that he let himself think about his father’s words, the look on his face, and the utter disgust that he felt towards himself. He had betrayed his own family, and no matter how good of a cause it was for, he couldn’t seem to find the will to forgive himself. He pressed the gas pedal as hard as he could and drove into the night, tears streaming down his face and loud sobs echoing through the cab of the truck.

* * *

  
Meena sat waiting in mission control for hours after every one else had gone home, staring blankly at her screen and running her fingers over the rim of her hot chocolate mug. She let out a heavy sigh, her eyes roving over the surveillance screens for the hundredth time in hopes that this time they would reveal Johnny’s form. No one had heard from him since the gun fight in the shipyards and despite her attempts to reach him he had remained missing.

She barely knew the man besides the flirting over comms or how he had cornered her in her inner sanctum, made her feel things that she wasn’t sure she was capable of anymore. She could not deny that he had awoken something in her, and she knew that he had a good heart underneath his tough, heartbreaker exterior.

She pushed back from her desk, her chair rolling softly over the carpet until she had enough space to get up and begin her pacing. She had made it back and forth a couple times before she saw it. Movement on the garage entrance surveillance screen. She practically dove for her mouse, scrambling with her controls until the camera feed was pulled up on her main screen and she could watch as an unidentified black truck rolled into the garage and came to a stop in the middle of the area.

Panic ran through her veins like wildfire and she reached for the emergency phone, intent on calling, Buster, security, anyone but then she saw him. She knew the form slumped over the steering wheel, it was Johnny. Slowly she set the phone back down on its hook and watched the scene unfolding on screen. Johnny sat slumped forwards forever before finally pushing back and leaning back against his seat, the despair written all over his face, even through a camera lens.

Meena’s heart ached in her chest and her anxiety immediately went to war with her caring instincts, insisting that she was the last person that he wanted to see right now, that there was nothing she could do to help him, but her heart won out for the first time in her life.

She may not be the cure for whatever ailed him, she thought to herself as she grabbed her hot chocolate and an extra mug that she filled with coffee, but she could be there for him when he obviously needed someone.

She descended from mission control with the utmost care, mindful of the hot coffee in one mug and the warm hot chocolate in the other. The last thing she needed was to fall victim to her clumsy, flustered tendencies now. She needed to come off as wise, helpful, caring, not awkward and shy.

As soon as she saw him sitting in truck her courage started to fade and she had to push herself over to the vehicle. He hadn’t noticed her presence just yet so she carefully set one mug down on the hood of the truck and opened the door. She ignored the way her hand shook when his head shot up and looked at her with teary eyes filled with surprise, relief, and a little bit of shame. Meena took a breath, retrieved the second mug and slid into the truck next to him.

He received his mug of coffee with numb hands and Meena made herself comfortable against the leather seats as he watched her in amazement. Meena shifted nervously under his gaze and her mind raced for the perfect thing to say, something that wouldn’t cause him to shut down, something that would let him know she understood what he was going through on some level. She had known from the beginning that this operation involved Johnny possibly being exposed to his family and she understood his conflict, his pain, but she had no idea how to voice it. So she decided to tell him.

“My family doesn’t know either.” Her voice was soft in the silence between them and she felt Johnny’s gaze shift away from her and down to the coffee cradled in his hands, “I have to lie to them everyday and it… it hurts. But I want to keep them safe so I do it anyways.”

She nervously glanced at him, watching him tentatively take a sip of his coffee, an action she imitated with her mug of hot chocolate before her nervous rambling jumped in and derailed her attempt at avoiding awkwardness.

“I didn’t know how you like y-your c-coffee. I h-hope black is okay!” She glanced down at her own mug, desperately trying to stop herself as the words poured out of her like a broken faucet, “I just… if you want t-to be alone I-I understand I just… I was worried about y-you and I couldn’t leave you out h-here all a-alone. I had to come down and d-do something! I had to t-tell you that I u-understand! I had to help!” She felt her anxiety rising as his silence persisted but her words died in her throat as he warm, calloused hand suddenly rested over top of hers.

She gazed down at it for a few seconds, her cheeks bright red in embarrassment as she gazed hopefully over at him.

“Thanks.” His voice was hoarse but the emotion was genuine, and she was too wrapped up in the glorious feeling of his hand on hers to say anything else, “I’m glad it was you Angel.”

She returned his tentative smile and his hand slid off of hers and back over to his mug of coffee as he raised it to his lips and took another sip. Meena actually felt herself relax into the seat and she took a sip of her own drink. The silence between them was no longer heavy and her heart grew warm in her chest as she replayed his words over and over again in her head. She had helped him. He may not be healed completely, and to be honest she wasn’t even close to whole, but she had helped and that was good.

This was good.

* * *

  
Miss Crawly walked nervously into Buster’s office, only to find him face down in paperwork, light snores emanating from underneath the grey mop of hair. She cleared her throat a couple times before letting out a long-suffering sigh and reaching out to shake him awake. She had barely touched him when he suddenly jumped back, startling a little shriek from her and a hoarse yell of surprise from him.

He looked around wildly for a moment before he seemed to recognize the woman in front of him. Miss Crawly gave him a tentative smile and he ran an exhausted hand through his hair as he let out a frustrated grunt.

“Yes Miss Crawly?” His voice was clipped with grumpiness but Miss Crawly didn’t seem to notice as she handed him a letter that had just been delivered from the top secret line.

“A letter for you sir.” She announced and Buster tiredly waved it away, fighting with a huge yawn as he tried to speak.

“If it’s from Judith I don’t want to hear it.” He muttered but Miss Crawly just placed it on the desk in front of him.

“It’s not from Judith sir. It’s from our U.A.” Buster suddenly sat straight up in his chair, fully awake and eyes glittering eagerly. He tore open the envelope, his eyes darting frantically over the words on the paper clutched in his hands. He let out a shaky little breath and Miss Crawly watched as he went through a maelstrom of emotions before settling on surprise.

“Oh my.”


	7. Maniac

When Johnny arrived in the briefing room it was the first time in two days that he had actually showered and changed his clothes. He had spent their entire impromptu weekend off sitting in his apartment, mulling over the events of his last mission and waiting desperately for Buster to call him, to give him something to do. He needed something to focus on rather than the guilt and loneliness that followed him around like a plague. When he finally got the message to come in, he had leapt off his couch and showered, threw on the first clean clothes he saw, and sped to the theatre like a bat out of hell.

He was the last one to arrive and the room was already full except for him and Buster, even Miss Crawly was sipping coffee at her little desk in the corner. His gaze automatically found Meena where she was sitting at the briefing table, busily setting up for Buster’s presentation and sending information to the corresponding tablets. When he walked in she glanced up and her hard focus softened as she met his gaze and gave him a shy smile. He returned it with a crooked smile of his own before she returned to her work and he settled down in the chair next to Ash.

Ash, who had been diligently scribbling on a sheet of paper in front of her, gave him a welcoming shove with her good arm. He just smirked and peered over her shoulder at the scratchy drawing of a stick figure sniping a bunch of other stick figures.

“So I’m guessin’ ya miss bein’ aht in the field?” He asked sarcastically, and received a half-hearted glare in response.

“Ya think?” she growled and glared at her injured arm, which was safely ensconced in a sling, “This stupid bullet wound has been nothing but a pain in the ass since I got it.”

Johnny laughed and leaned back in his chair, his gaze drifting back to Meena as she did her final tech check. Ever since the night in his truck he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. When they first met he thought that she was beautiful and fun to flirt with but after she had sat with him, comforted him, he was seeing her in a new light. She was special, not only because she was smart and mysterious but now she was special to him. Before he could dwell on her new status in his life for too long, Buster appeared in the doorway.

The first thing that Johnny noticed was that their usually plucky leader looked wary under his mask of a bright smile. Johnny wasn’t the only one to notice. They were all trained to read a room, and coupled with the fact that they had been working with Buster for some time now it was easy for them to tell that something significant had happened during their weekend. Buster’s appearance was quickly followed by that of a tall imposing woman who walked into the room like she owned it.

Automatically everyone in the room tensed in their seats, Ash even going so far as to crumple up her drawing and drop it to the floor where it wasn’t visible. Most agents were only lucky enough to see this woman once or twice in their careers, but it seemed that their squad was one of the unlucky few, the ones overseen by Director Noodleman. The prim woman scanned the room with a sour look on her face before taking Buster’s normal seat at the head of the table and glaring down at anyone that stared at her for too long. Eventually she looked over to where Meena was sitting, her face frantically buried in her tablet in an attempt to avoid Nana’s scrutiny.

“Agent Jones.” Her voice cut through the tension like a hot knife through butter and Meena’s grip on her tablet tightened to the point that she was shaking slightly from the strain. She took a deep breath and finally met Nana’s piercing gaze with her wary baby blues.

“D-Director N-Noodleman.” She replied in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper. Nana rolled her eyes at Meena’s timid response and Johnny, who had been protectively watching the entire exchange, felt his anger flare up at her behavior.

“You may start the briefing.” Meena’s eyes widened and her heart began to pound in her chest at the idea of presenting in front of Nana Noodleman. She looked to Buster with wide eyes and the look of frustration that had taken up residence on his face disappeared in favor of a comforting smile as he took her plac ein front of the main screen.

“Actually Director, I’ll be leading today’s briefing.” He barrelled forward when Nana looked like she was about to protest, “Hello everyone.”

There were scattered ‘hello’ s from around the table but they all lacked their normal personality in the face of the Director. Everything was now under scrutiny, Buster especially because of his leadership position. Buster nervously cleared his throat and Meena controlled the screen so that it focused in on a rough blue print and surveillance photos of a sprawling mansion.

“We received word from our Undercover Asset that ‘the Baron’ is holding a private gala at his residence tonight. The Baron is a suspected affiliate of the Syndicate and we believe that he uses his political contacts and money to provide them with essential intelligence. I don’t think I have to explain how important it is that we gain access to his system. I’m sending Johnny in to infiltrate the gala so that Meena can remotely hack the system. Unfortunately I can’t send Ash into the field yet so Johnny you’ll have to go alone.” He turned to Johnny who had a determined look on his face while Ash sulked next to him.

“I can handle it sir.” He gave Buster a slight nod and the man seemed to relax slightly. Before he could turn around to continue his briefing Nana let out a pointed cough that made everyone freeze. All attention turned to where she was sitting at the head of the table, casually picking invisible lint off of her purple pantsuit. Her bored expression never wavering for a second, she addressed the room.

“Actually, it makes more sense for Agent Jones to accompany Agent Bannerton to the gala don’t you think?” Meena’s fast suddenly turned sickly pale and she frantically stared at Buster, willing him not to break their agreement, to keep her out of the field. Buster gave her an uncertain look and nervously addressed Nana.

“Well Agent Jones doesn’t really have to be in the field to do the hack…” He trailed off as Nana leveled him with a dark look that would send any man running. She slowly rose from her seat and slowly ambled over to the end of the table where Meena was cowering in her seat and Buster was bracing himself for a tirade.

“I’m sorry. Are you the Director of this Agency?” She asked with false sweetness in her tone and immediately both Buster and Meena knew that they were done for.

“No ma’am I-“ Nana cut him off with a quick glare before her sickly sweet smile reappeared on her face.

“Well since I am, in fact, the Director. I’m making an executive decision. Agent Jones is going to that gala with Agent Bannerton.” Immediately the room erupted in protests as the other agents decided to voice their own protests in an effort to save Meena. Ash was loudly declaring that she was in fact fit for duty because her wound didn’t even bother her anymore while Rosita and Johnny tried to reason that Meena had no combat experience as a tech.

Nana let them try to talk over each other for a few moments before her patience ran thin and she silenced the room when she slammed her fist down on the table. Everyone jumped in shock at the violent action and Nana fixed each one of them with an individual glare that seemed specially tailored to make them do as she said.

“I will not say this again. Jones goes with Bannerton. That’s the last word on the matter.” She hissed out and then looked at Meena, a cruel smirk on her lips, “Besides, Jones can look after herself. Isn’t that right Agent?”

Meena just let out a little noise of fear that Nana accepted as agreement and looked away from her scorching gaze. Nana just smiled triumphantly and made her way back to her seat, gesturing flippantly for Buster to continue with his presentation.

“Well um, yes. Meena and Johnny we have manufactured invitations for your aliases so that you can get into the gala. Now the schematics of the Baron’s home do not exist electronically so once you get inside our Undercover Asset will hand them off to you. His name is Mike and I have included his description in your dossiers. Once you have the schematics Johnny will need to create a distraction so Meena can get to the Baron’s study and download the files. Gunther will be waiting for extraction after you have the files. No after parties this time. Keep in mind that if you are caught, you will most likely be killed.” He glanced at Meena who refused to meet his gaze, and then Johnny who was worriedly watching Meena.

“You leave in an hour. Rosita get them geared up and changed into formalwear. I will be with you from the mission room over coms, but we are flying dark on this one, I will have no visual. If you get into trouble, tell me.” Buster tried to swallow but the lump in his throat that had been growing since the moment that Nana had stepped out of the elevator refused to let him.

“Dismissed.” He said hoarsely, and the words were barely out of his mouth before Meena was dashing out of the room, Rosita hot in her tail. Gunther was the next to leave, giving Nana an impassive look before dashing off to the garage to pick out a car for the evening. Ash practically stormed out of the room with Johnny hot on her heels, both of them practically exuding anger for completely different reasons.

Now alone with Nana Buster let out a heavy sigh and fixed the older woman with a wary but angry look, “What are you trying to do here Nana? I know you don’t want to see her heart, neither of us do but throwing her into combat isn’t helping her.”

Nana rose to her feet and paused by the door, only glancing back to give Buster a determined look , her stubborn mind obviously made up, “It’s time for her to accept what she is Buster. If she doesn’t this team will never succeed.”

And with that she was gone, leaving Buster alone with Miss Crawly, desperately pleading with whoever was listening for a successful, smooth mission. After a few seconds he pushed back from the table and led the way down the hallway, already preparing for disaster.

An hour later, Johnny was pacing in front of the sleek black SUV that Gunther had chosen for the mission. The portly driver was sitting in the front seat, waiting for Meena and happily bouncing along to the music on the radio.

“Where are they?” Johnny anxiously asked aloud and Gunther ignored him in favor of dancing in place. Johnny cracked a tense smile before resuming his pacing. It had been fairly easy to find a tuxedo that fit him and he had styled his usually spiky hair so that it was slicked back. Instead of his usual messy handsome he was now a debonair gentleman. He was straightening his tux and almost obsessively checking his watch when the Meena finally appeared on the other side of the garage.

She was talking with Rosita as she walked, but anything that Johnny might have been able to overhear faded into the background as he gazed at her in all of her splendor. Her dark hair was curled and pulled back from her face into an elegant updo, and her mocha skin was accented with just a light layer of makeup. Her dress was a deep passionate red and loose from her waist down so that the silk material flowed with her every step, making it seem like she was walking on air. A red silk scarf was draped over her chest as if to hide any skin from wandering eyes, but it only accented her beauty and the grace of her walk. Johnny was mesmerized.

When Meena finally looked up at him, her blue eyes still filled with fear, Johnny felt his focus on the mission return. He inwardly cursed Nana for sending their sweet techie out on a dangerous mission, but kept up his smile for Meena’s benefit as she seemed to relax when he smiled at her. When she finally got to the car he helped her in and Rosita followed him as he made his way around to the other side.

“She wouldn’t take a gun Johnny. She’s completely unarmed.” Rosita lamented and Johnny felt another stab of unease pierce his already rolling stomach. Before he could open the door and get into the car, Rosita stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder. When Johnny turned around to meet her gaze he felt a new level of fear strike him. The usually bubbly woman had an uncharacteristically dark look on her face and her whole body radiated dangerous energy. His muscles immediately tensed in an automatic fight or flight reflex but he bravely met her gaze.

“You protect her you hear? Both of you come back to us.” She said sternly and Johnny nodded quickly in an attempt to appease the beast. Suddenly he could understand the darkness behind the sweet engineer that was able to beat another agent to near death.

In an instant her smile was back and her face was bright with kindness and affection as she pulled him into a tight hug. He tentatively patted her back until she released him and he climbed into the SUV. Gunther sped away as soon as Johnny had shut the door and they disappeared into the car and headed towards the outskirts of the city. The entire ride Meena remained silent, her gaze glued to the view outside of her tinted window as her hands nervously fiddled with the edges of her pashmina.

After an hour of nothing but Gunther’s off-key singing in the front seat, Johnny slowly reached over and clasped her hands in his. Meena went deathly still under his touch but in the same moment she relaxed and turned her hand so that she was gripping his hand with surprising strength. Her grip tightened when the beautifully lit mansion came into view over the horizon but Johnny just squeezed back and hoped that his presence would be enough to bring her some comfort.

Gunther dropped them off at the opulent entrance and Meena nervously draped herself on his arm and shakily followed him inside. Johnny gave the guards their invitations with a cocky grin and they were immediately shown into a golden ballroom that was teeming with glittering socialites.

Meena felt intensely out of place and gripped Johnny’s arm harder, hoping that somehow he would ground her and help her get through this operation. Johnny led her to the dance floor where glittering diamonds twirled and spun in a competition to see who could get the most attention. He pulled her flush against his body and began to lead her through a very simple ballroom dance.

“Relax.” He whispered in her ear and Meena had to hold back a shiver as she fought the feelings that being pressed against him evoked. She gave him a nod, which he met with an encouraging smile as he swept her away and into a twirl. He kept twirling until she let out a laugh.

“Much bettah.” He whispered and gave her a smile that made her heart pound dangerously. For a few moments they were’t on a mission and she wasn’t scared out of her mind, but instead they were just two people, dancing. It felt amazing to pretend to be normal with him, to pretend that a handsome man had asked her to dance because she was beautiful and not because they were on a covert mission and looking for an Undercover Asset. A girl could dream.

They were pulled from their bubble when someone tapped Johnny’s shoulder and effectively brought them to a halt. Meena looked away from Johnny’s warm brown eyes to the short, white haired man in a purple velvet suit who was smirking up at them.

“Hey there buddy. Mind if I cut in?” The man gestured to Meena who shakily nodded and reluctantly let Johnny’s warm muscular form be replaced by the skinnier, colder one of the man in front of her. They had barely been dancing for a few minutes before He suddenly pulled her down and tilted his head so that he was speaking directly into her com for everyone to hear. To anyone around them it looked like he was whispering pick up lines into her ear when he was actually feeding information.

“Moon. It’s me. I’m dancin’ with your greenhorn here who looks like she’s about ready to piss herself and blow this whole shindig.” Meena let out an annoyed huff and let him spin her around. Suddenly the spinning was not nearly as fun as it was when Johnny did it. For a second she considered looking around for him, seeking some comfort but instead she kept her attention on Mike as he whispered in her ear again.

“The Baron ain’t gonna be here for another 15 minutes so that’s how much time ya got to take care of this shit.” His cold fingers grappled with her own as he shoved a crumpled piece of paper into her palm and began guiding their dance to the end of the dance floor that was closest to the door leading to the office.

The music died down and Mike roughly pulled her back in so that he could whisper in her ear one last time, but this time it was the one without her com, it was meant only for her, “Don’t fuck this up kid.”

He released her and Meena gave him an annoyed look, her confidence suddenly growing before turning and walking away as casually as she could. She could feel his eyes burning a hole in her back as she disappeared into the crowd, never once looking back. She made her way over to the nearest wall and leant against it to catch her breath, her heart pounding as she scanned the room for threats before looking down at the hand drawn instructions that Mike had obviously scribbled on a used napkin.

“So much for schematics.” She grumbled and looked towards the hallway Mike had indicated for her to follow to the office. Two impassive men who were obviously strapped with handguns were blocking her entrance. She cursed and slowly began making her way over, looking around the crowded room for a glimpse of Johnny. Finally she had to resort to her coms, hoping against hope that she wasn’t compromising Johnny by contacting him.

“Johnny. I’m on the east side of the dance floor. Two guards are blocking my way. i need a distraction now.” There were a few moments of crackling silence on the other line and her heart jumped into her throat as she got closer and closer to her destination. Suddenly her com flared to life and she was able to breathe again.

“Sure thin’ love.” Meena grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and stopped just next to the door, sipping her drink and trying desperately to casually watch the dancers. Instead, her blue eyes were darting all over the dance floor, waiting for some kind of signal that would show her that Johnny had her back. She jumped slightly when the sound of microphone feedback suddenly broke through the music and a man that was unmistakably Johnny jumped onto the stage where the musicians had been playing.

The air filled with murmurs of confusion as all eyes turned to him, especially the security guards whom Meena was watching from the corner of her eye. Johnny’s voice suddenly echoed through the hall and various guards around the room began casually shifting towards his position. One of the guards left the door, but the second one hung back, reluctant to leave his post to take care of some drunk rich boy.

“Come on Johnny.” Meena whispered through her teeth and she took another calming sip of her drink.

“Ladies and gentleman, I’d loike ter bring yer attention ter the most beautiful woman in the room!” Johnny announced and he was met by scattered laughter. The guard seemed to relax back against the door, the exact opposite of what she needed to happen. Her mind was racing for other options or possible distractions when Johnny suddenly pulled a slim blonde with a very expensive chest up onto the stage. She was beautiful and exactly his type and magically the guard behind her tensed up once more.

All she saw was a flurry of movement and suddenly the door was unguarded as the guard darted towards the stage. Meena quickly set her glass down on the nearest surface and backed into the hallway. No one paid her a second glance as a gasp went through the crowd and everyone stayed glued to the drama before them. Curious, Meena took a peek from the doorway where she stood poised to disappear into the inner sanctum of the house.

Her heart promptly shattered in her chest.

Johnny had dipped the buxom blonde and was furiously kissing her for everyone to see. The logical part of her screamed that this was a distraction, that she was obviously someone of importance or else the guards wouldn’t have cared, but the part of her that was drawn in every way to her handsome teammate was too shattered to care. She stood there for an eternity, just as transfixed as every other crowd member, except she was furiously fighting tears that threatened to escape. It was only when one escaped from her eye and made its way down her cheek that she turned away and hurried as quickly and as quietly as she could down the hallway.

Her head was pounding along with her broken heart as she nervously made her way through the compound, only occasionally tripping on her long dress. She finally collapsed against a wall, breathing heavily and heart pounding in her chest like a drum. It had been so long since she had felt anything like this, and the part of her that she had buried years ago weakly buzzed with excitement despite her best efforts to suppress it.

She pressed herself against a nearby alcove as a guard rounded the corner toting a large semi-automatic. She felt cold fear rush through her veins and by the time the guard had done a casual check of the area and disappeared she was shaking like a leaf. Meena forced herself out of her temporary safe haven and took the final turn to the office.

Just as she reached the door, footsteps echoed through the hallway she had just come from and Meena quickly yanked the door open and slipped inside. The guard passed quickly without even glancing towards the office but Meena still felt the mounting pressure. She carefully closed the door with a click, in her hurry not noticing as her pashmina caught in the door and fell from her body.

Annoyed with her heels, Meena quickly tossed them off and darted across the hardwood floor to the ornate desk on the other side of the room. As soon as she sat in the leather chair and dove into the computer she was in her element. Her nerves disappeared and her fingers flew over the keys as she hacked into the server and began her search for the Syndicate files.

The moment that she found them she plugged in her USB and began downloading the files. As the computer worked she bounced nervously in her seat, her eyes glued to the screen as she willed the down load to speed up, “I’m in the study. Files are downloading. Give me a few more minutes.”

She whispered into her com absentmindedly, not expecting a response as they were still operating in the dark. She considered saying something else, anything else to fill the suffocating silence that was only broken up by her bated breath. She wished Johnny had come with her, or at least for his banter in her ear. She felt completely out of her element and she felt the buzzing in her head grow stronger as that part of her insisted that she enjoyed this, that this was where she belonged.

By 30% she was nervously tapping her nails on the wood of the desk and shifting in the chair just to create some kind of noise, something distracting, anything to bring her back to the present and pull her away from the buzzing.

At 40% everything froze and she barely breathed as she tried to bring back the blessed silence that she had loathed only moments before. But her time was up, and voices were echoing down the hall as multiple men approached her position. Mike had warned her that the Baron was on his way, but they hadn’t counted on him being early. The voices got louder with every second but the download’s progress refused to speed up.

At 50% she was panicking because the voices were only a few feet away and her gaze went to the door instead of the computer screen. And that’s when she saw her pashmina half caught in the room and half in the hall. And that was when the yelling started and the footsteps turned from a casual walk to an all out sprint.

When the download hit 53% she ran out of time and she yanked out the USB, logged out of the computer and frantically shoved the small device into her cleavage. She was frantically searching for some kind of escape and was staring at the window when the door burst open and a wave of guards descended upon her.

She struggled but within seconds her wrists were restrained by strong hands and she was forced to her knees by her faceless captors. All of the guards looked the same, but the moment she was secured on the floor a man in a white suit with slicked back hair and an oily smile strolled into the room.

“My, my what do we have here?” He said softly as if he had just caught a child with their hand in the cookie jar rather than a stranger in his private study. Meena remained silent, unable to speak even if she wanted to as her brain shut down in panic and the buzzing increased.

“My dear the party is back there. How ever did you get so turned around?” He was patronizing her as a guard handed him a gun and he cocked it.

_‘Meena. Report.'_ Buster’s voice echoed in her ear but she ignored him and watched the black metal of the gun as it clashed against the man’s white suit. She could feel tears running down her face and she gasped for breath as she tried to calm down, to act like an agent for once. The man just chuckled and kneeled in front of her to wipe away the tear with the gun. the barrel scraped against her skin and her eyes widened as it came perilously close to her eye. Her breath stopped in her chest and the gun stopped so that it was poised to blow away her cheek.

“Now tell me pretty girl. What were you doing in here?” the Baron cooed at her and Meena felt sick to her stomach at the way that he kept smiling and licked his chapped lips as he watched her gaze dart back and forth from his face and the gun.

“I…” Her voice cracked against her permission before she forced herself to go silent and the Baron let out a dry cackle that sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

“Come now darling. No need to be afraid. Tell us the truth.” the Baron pushed his face in close with each word and licked at the trail of tears that was streaming down her cheeks. Meena recoiled violently at his touch and the buzzing grew louder as she jerked forward and knocked him back with a well-placed headbutt.

_‘Meena! Meena what’s going on?!’_ her com came to life again but she refused to speak.

The Baron fell back with another cackle and the guards roughly yanked her back, stretching her arms to the point of pain. Meena let out a whimper and the Baron surged forward so that his nose was pressed against hers and she could see the way that his smile turned cruel and angry.

“That wasn’t very nice. Now it’s my turn.” He said loudly and Meena prayed that Buster had heard him speak at that distance and that Johnny was going to burst in at any moment and save her from what was looking like certain death. Suddenly the gun came down against the side of head where her com was concealed and as her head was thrown to the side with the force of the blow she heard a little squeal as the feed was cut off.

She let out a cry of pain as her limp form was yanked back up so she was kneeling again and the Baron was looking down at her in disappointment. She glanced at his guards and then at his watch as if considering whether or not he had time for this interrogation. Evidently he did not as he handed the gun back to one of his guards and started walking towards the door, straightening his suit and slicking back his loose hairs as he walked.

“Oh and boys? Get rid of her.” He said flippantly and disappeared out of the door, leaving Meena alone with ten guards, all armed to the teeth. Meena felt the buzzing grow louder and louder and she frantically struggled, trying to get away from the sound rather than her captors. The most important thing was stopping that buzzing.

“Buster don’t you dare.” She whispered as the sound grew louder and a guard approached her with his weapon drawn, “Buster no. No no no!”

She was screaming now and the guards laughed, thinking that she was begging them not to kill her, but Meena had completely forgotten about them as the buzzing became a roar and drowned out everything except for the click of the gun as the guard cocked it and leveled it at her head.

“NO!” She screamed in fury and then everything went red.

* * *

 

  
_‘Johnny. Johnny come in! We aren’t getting a response from Meena. Get her out of there.’_ Buster’s frantic commands echoed in Johnny’s ears, drowning out the music as he swept his blonde dance partner around the dance floor. He knew as soon as he saw her that she was the Baron’s mistress, and the Baron was a very jealous man. The moment he pulled her onto the stage he was a target and all eyes were on him. He could duck guards, that was easy, what he wasn’t counting on was the blonde becoming so enamoured with him that every time he tried to pull away she would dig her nails into his arms and anchor him to her.

But now Meena needed him, he couldn’t afford to be gentle anymore. Usually he would revel in a woman’s attention when he got the chance to seduce a beauty like this but the entire time he had been wrapped in this woman’s arms all he could think about was the frightened look in Meena’s eyes and the guns that the guards had flashed at him when they ordered him off the stage.

“I’m sorry ma’am but I really gotta go nah.” He tried to wiggle away as the song ended but the blonde pouted and gripped him once more.

“Don’t leave me here all alone handsome! You’re my kind of man. So big and sooo strong.” She squeezed his muscled bicep again and let out a giggle, “This party will be so long without you.”

Johnny frowned and looked around the room for another escape, something anything that would give him an opening to escape but the guards had ensured that the other guests gave them plenty of space and there was no crowd to slip away into. He cursed under his breath but gave the mistress a charming smile nonetheless.

“I really do gotta get goin’.” He said through his teeth and her grip softened as her pout persisted.

“Oh fine.” Hope rushed through him and was immediately squashed when the music began once more and she pulled him flush against her body, “Right after this dance.”

Johnny gritted his teeth but he was powerless as a nearby guard glared at him and his dance partner began swaying him in another dance. He quickly swept her into a half-hearted dance, his gaze constantly dancing over to the doorway where Meena had disappeared, willing her with all of his might to appear there unharmed. But as he danced around the floor it remained empty and his tension only mounted.

He was counting the seconds by the time the song ended and as the last notes faded into the air he broke away from the mistress and walked as quickly and casually as he could to the hallway. When he still felt the gazes of the guards following him he dove into a crowd around the bar where people were laughing and talking so loudly that he could barely think.

Thankfully the crowd was so thick and so loud that the guards that had been following him were quickly swallowed up and he was left alone to race down the hallway at full speed. His dress shoes pounded against the tile floor and he thanked whatever power had cleared the hallways for him as he didn’t run into any guards.

As he got near the office he heard a gunshot and his heart stopped beating in his chest as he propelled his body forward and numb fingers reached for his gun. All he could think about was the image of Meena’s lifeless body lying in a pool of her own blood while he had been dancing around like an idiot. He should have come with her, he should have been there to protect her.

_Oh god please don’t be dead._

Johnny kicked the door in with such force that the wood splintered and he leapt into the room with his gun drawn and his blood furiously pumping through every part of his body. His eyes nearly popped out of his head at the scene that he came upon.

Meena was wrestling furiously with the last guard standing, the others laying in various places around the study, obviously dead. He just gaped as Meena hit the man with a flurry of punches, his thick body jerking violently with each hit, like he was taking a hit from a truck. The man stumbled backwards, bruised and bloodied and on the verge of passing out, but Meena didn’t stop there. Johnny watched as his sweet techie grabbed either side of the man’s head and wrenched his neck so violently that a resounding snap echoed through the room and the lifeless body of the final guard dropped to the ground in a limp heap.

When she turned to face him his gun was held in a lax grip at his side and his incredulous brown eyes examined her for signs that she was hurt, that something was wrong, answers in general. All he found was her emotionless expression and blown pupils.

“Meena?” He breathed out but she remained silent, just staring at him with absolutely no emotion on her face. Suddenly thick streams of blood burst from her nostrils and rolled down her plump lips to paint her red dress bloody. He saw a few blood drops roll out from her inner ear as well and her strong stance wavered.

“Johnny.” She whispered in her sweet, innocent voice and then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed into a heap. Johnny dove into action, dropping his gun in his rush to get to her. When he reached her he shakily wiped the blood off of her face and cradled her head against his chest.

“Meena! Meena please wake up!” He called into the unbearable silence but she remained still in his arms, covered in the blood of strangers while her own blood rolled down her face and joined the growing pool that spread across the hardwood.

“No.” Johnny growled quietly determination filling him as he tightened his grip on her body, hefted her into his arms, and made his way through the halls, a trail of bloody footprints in his wake, “You’re not leaving me.”


End file.
